if water on earth showed like a ball

The graphic shows various blue spheres representing relative amounts of Earth's water in comparison to the size of the Earth. Are you surprised that these water spheres look so small? They are only small in relation to the size of the Earth. These images attempt to show three dimensions, so each sphere represents "volume." Overall, it shows that in comparison to the volume of the globe the amount of water on the planet is very small - and the oceans are only a "thin film" of water on the surface.

If you took all the water on earth – in oceans, ice caps, lakes, rivers, groundwater, the atmosphere, and living things – and wrapped it into a sphere, it would have a diameter of about 860 miles. That 860-mile-high sphere is represented by the largest bubble in the picture, which stretches from Salt Lake City, Utah to Topeka, Kan. It has a volume of over 332 million cubic miles. If you popped this bubble with a giant pin, the resulting flow would cover the lower 48 states to a depth of about 107 miles.

Climate change will also impact water availability. Projections indicate a steady increase in temperature progressing through the 21st century, generally resulting in snowpack reductions, changes to the timing of snowmelt, altered streamflows, and reductions in soil moisture, all of which could affect water management, agriculture, recreation, hazard mitigation, and ecosystems across the nation. Despite some widespread similarities in climate change trends, climate change will affect specific water basins in the U.S. differently, based on the particular hydrologic and geologic conditions in that area. For example, USGS models project that changes to snow pack in the Sprague River Basin in Oregon (pictured above) could cause annual peak streamflows to occur earlier in the spring as overall basin storage decreases, which may force managers to modify storage operation and reprioritize water deliveries for environmental and human needs.

In reality, most of the largest bubble is stretched over about 70 percent of Earth’s surface, a very thin layer over the land. As we stare out into them, we think of oceans as vast expanses. And in many parts of the world we feel water-rich, even as we hear stories of regions where water is far from abundant. This graphic shows that this amount of water is not nearly as abundant as it may feel.

Furthermore, most of this water is unusable to humans, because we need freshwater to survive, and 98 percent of that large bubble is saline. The much smaller blue sphere over Kentucky – by comparison, about 169.5 miles in diameter – represents the world’s liquid freshwater, including groundwater, lakes, swamp water, and rivers. However, 99 percent of that bubble is groundwater, much of which is not accessible to humans.

Now we can start to answer the question, how much water is available to humans? Do you notice that tiny blue speck over Atlanta, Ga.? That’s the bubble representing freshwater in all the lakes and rivers on the planet. Most of the water that people and ecosystems need every day comes from these surface-water sources. The diameter of this sphere is a mere 34.9 miles, with a volume of a little over 22,000 cubic miles. The sphere looks tiny compared to, say, the Great Lakes region, which is the largest freshwater source on Earth. But keep in mind that tiny dot is about 35 miles high.

In 2005 Americans used about 328 billion gallons of surface water and about 82 billion gallons ofgroundwater per day. Surface water is used as the primary supply of drinking and irrigation water, but groundwater is used for these purposes too. Groundwater is also vital in keeping rivers and lakes full, and it provides water for people in places where visible water is scarce, such as in the desert towns of the western U.S.

Still – look again at the picture. It doesn’t seem like a lot of water! Certainly, it’s not. It’s important to remember that water is a precious resource. It’s never sitting still; it moves between the air, the land, underground, to the ocean and back again via the water cycle. USGS scientists conduct studies to understand how much water is available now and for the future, including how water flows through the water cycle, how surface water and groundwater interact, and how the quality of our water impacts availability. These studies are important for wise water use, especially as the world becomes increasingly water stressed.

Data behind this Graphic

Water Use in the U.S.

USGS Details Effects of Climate Change on Water Availability in 14 Local Basins Nationwide

For the first time in history ,wildlife facing threat from wildlife photographers apart from industries

Photographers Ruining Hesaraghatta – A Wake-up Call

by Seshadri KS, Krishna MB & Sunil Kumar

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• Bird Photographers Ruining the Ecology of Hesaraghatta lake -- Original ReportPDF File

Vehicles in Hesaraghatta

KS Seshadri

In addition to permanent vehicle tracks, excessive vehicular movement causes significant disturbance to the birds and other wildlife.

A jackal chased by an SUV

Anonymous

As is evident, these activities damage the habitat and cause a great deal of stress to wild animals.

A rapid assessment study of the grasslands of Hesaraghatta, outside Bangalore, shows that unregulated and excessive vehicular movement of bird photographers is creating permanent vehicle tracks, causing significant disturbance to the feeding and foraging activities of birds, imposing severe stress on the local birdlife, as well as damaging the ecosystem for some rare butterflies. 

Conservation India condemns such unethical and insensitive photography and urges wildlife photographers to strictly adhere to the cardinal rule of nature photography — “The welfare of the subject and its habitat is far more important than the photograph.” In addition to the damage caused by photographers, which is documented below, CI has received several other reports from Hesaraghatta that include baiting of raptors and chasing jackals on the grasslands. Wildlife photographers as well as photography forums (where these images are shared) should have a zero-tolerance policy towards these practices, create peer pressure for better standards of ethical photography and should report photographers crossing the line.

In 2012, The Ministry of Environment & Forests banned photography of the Great Indian Bustard during its breeding season, to help protect the species from “unethical photography”. The birds and butterflies of the dry bed of the Hesaraghatta Lake, 30 km from Bangalore, may need the help of a similar ban soon, if photographers don’t exercise restraint and self-regulation.

The survey has revealed startling facts about the extent of damage caused by the vehicular movement of bird photographers that has led to the creation of permanent tracks on the dry lakebed, marking a steady increase of off-road driving activities from 2009. A shocking 43 kms of permanent tracks has been formed and these have not only inflicted severe damage to the vegetation in the area, but also allowed more car-borne photographers to chase down raptors, stressing them to the point of exhaustion. The area is home to the critically endangered and Indian endemic Lesser Florican (Sypheotides indicus), seen in Bangalore in these grasslands after a century, as well as rare butterflies, such as the Lilac Silverline (Apharitis lilacinus) seen in Bangalore after a gap of 103 years. The damaging vehicular movement affects all these species and the plants extensively.

The research team, consisting of ornithologists, wildlife biologists and seasoned birdwatchers, used a number of techniques to arrive at their conclusions. Apart from detailed vehicle counts, methods to assess vegetation damage included the use of GPS, Google Earth, tape measurements and analysis of photographs. Other observations included photographers chasing raptors to the point of exhaustion, flushing raptors and various grassland birds, thereby disturbing their feeding and foraging activities.

Given that, on average, 20 cars and SUVs drive around the area each day indulging in such behavior, it is expected that the birds of the area are under severe stress during the presence of these vehicles. An example of this behavior was witnessed when a number of vehicles were seen chasing a migrating European Roller (Coracias garrulous) relentlessly as it flushed from one open perch to another. The IUCN’s Red List lists this bird as ‘Vulnerable’, and its sightings are rare in Bangalore.

Considering that a third of all birds ever recorded from Bangalore are found in Hesaraghatta, and given the importance of grasslands and how little is left in Karnataka, the report concludes that it is imperative that some form of regulation on vehicular movement is needed in the area. Driving on the lakebed itself needs to stop completely. A number of options for protection abound, such as a legal ban, creation of a stakeholder committee, policing by the Forest Department and demarcation of pathways.

Considering India’s international commitments such as the Ramsar Convention and the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS), implementation of one or more of these options is urgently required. This is especially so in the light of other serious conservation threats to Hesaraghatta.

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Editor’s note: Unfortunately, this is not the only instance of damage and destruction by the new tribe of so-called nature photographers, whose interest in, and love for nature, are questionable. All they seem to be after is a ‘trophy’ in the form of a photograph and some fleeting glory on their Facebook page or on a nature photography website. The Hesaraghatta study is an eye opener and a wake-up call. This article should be shared widely so that a strong stigma is created against unethical and uncaring photographers everywhere. If the unsavoury practices mentioned in the article are not stopped through self-regulation, it would not surprise us if someone steps in seeking a ban on all wildlife photography. It is time for all senior photographers and mentors to lead by example, and tackle this issue proactively. It will not go away on its own. What is happening in Hesaraghatta is an absolute disgrace, but let’s take it as an opportunity for corrective action.

Nanoimprinting triples efficiency of solar panels

© Wei Ding

Chou's solar panel can trap light more efficiently and reduce reflection by utilizing a nanomesh.

A new method for creating solar panels using nanotechnology can double or triple their efficiency in capturing and converting light to electricity. The new nanotechnology was developed by a research group led by electrical engineering professor Stephen Chou and has the potential to significantly improve the performance of organic solar panels used to generate renewable energy.

The key mechanism behind the success of the solar panels is a manufacturing technique called “nanoimprint lithography” invented by Chou 16 years ago. Whereas traditional techniques require expensive chemical reactions, Chou explained that his method uses mechanical processes to deform the panel’s active layer, the layer that is responsible for capturing light, into a desired pattern.

As a result, nanoimprinting reduces the time of manufacturing by several-fold. It is also easier to perform on a large scale, as well as simpler and cheaper than existing techniques. In 2003, Chou’s technology was selected as one of the MIT Technology Review’s “10 Emerging Technologies that Will Change the World.”

“At the time, it was absolutely crazy because people for many, many years always used light,” Chou said. “Now the imprint became a well-accepted technology for manufacturing.”

In the new solar cells, which are detailed in a paper coauthored by Chou and electrical engineering graduate student Wei Ding this past November, the thin upper active layer is composed of a metal mesh of nano-size holes instead of the traditional indium tin oxide films, which are made of an expensive and rare material. In comparison, the new cells’ active layer can be made of conducting metals such as copper or gold, according to Chou.

The application of nanoimprint technology to solar panels is able to increase both the panels’ light absorption and light retention. Whereas 20 to 50 percent of the light that hits a traditional solar panel is reflected and consequently lost, only five percent of incoming light reflects off the new solar panel, Ding said. Furthermore, due to new physical interactions that happen in the metallic nanostructures, Chou explained that the new panels are equally efficient in collecting indirect sunlight as light that directly hits the panel’s surface.

The next step to implementing the new technology in solar panels is to develop tools that can perform nanoimprint manufacturing on a large scale, a development that Chou has compared to inventing the printing press. Although his group is not actively working to commercialize the new panels, Chou said he believes that they will be utilized in the future. The deciding factor for their implementation will be future government policies and whether they encourage outside investment in the technology.

“From the technology side, I believe that our development, many parts of it, will be used for the next generation of solar cells,” Chou said.

“It is very promising in the future because it is relatively cheap,” Ding added. “I think it can happen within five years.”

The development that Chou and his group have put forth is regarded as a significant advancement for the field of renewable energy, according to mechanical and aerospace engineering and applied and computational mathematics professor Emily Carter.

“These kinds of innovations are critical to improving the efficiency of organic solar cells. It could potentially be transformative,” Carter, who is also the director of the Andlinger Center for Energy and the Environment, explained. “The fact that he can essentially capture all the light is extremely promising”

Chou and Ding are currently working on applying the nanotechnology to a variety of materials in order to continue increasing the efficiency of organic solar cells.