Water, although transparent and odourless and making up the majority of living organisms and the world at large, is not the same. This may not come as a surprise, as we have seawater, freshwater and pure water, taking on various states that range from ice to gaseous and steam. But that’s just the tip of the ice-berg (no pun intended); different types of H20 feature varying properties.
To help you better understand this wonderful fluid we call water, here are some of the differences between the H20.
Seawater
Found in all of the world’s oceans, seawater is very different from freshwater, brackish and pure water. This is because it contains about 35grams of dissolved salts, made up of mainly sodium and chloride. Its density is also much more than other variants due to its high salinity, i.e. dissolved salts.
What’s more, as the salt concentration surges, seawater’s freezing point will decrease. You can find seawater in regions such as the Indian and Atlantic Ocean.
Brackish water
Also known as briny, brackish water has a salinity level ranging from 0.5grams to 30grams. It is found in brackish fossil aquifers, but may be the result of human intervention such as civil engineering activities. For example, prawn farming involves flooding coastal marshlands and dikes. Unlike freshwater and seawater, it is regarded as being dangerous to most flora.
You can find this kind of H20 in areas such as the Baltic and Black seas, Chilika Lake and Lake Maracaibo as well as Amazon River and Delaware Bay.
Freshwater
Freshwater makes up 2.75% of the world’s H20. While it might be a tiny fraction, almost all living organisms rely on it for survival and it’s used for a myriad of applications, including agriculture. What’s more, despite it being the least available form of H20, it’s the most used and currently reaching critical levels. Freshwater can be found in lakes, rivers, underground aquifers and icebergs.
The good news is that freshwater is a renewable resource and, through sustainable living, can be replenish through the water cycle.
Pure water
The name says it all, but pure H20 has its own categories as well, including distilled and deionized water. It also doesn’t occur naturally like freshwater, seawater or brackish H20. Instead, it goes through human controlled processes such as carbon filtration, microfiltration, distillation and electro dialysis. This is done to remove any impurities such as minerals (salts) or dangerous contaminants such as bacteria (E. coli).
Pure water may be used in science and engineering for a variety of applications, including the production of chemicals and preservation of apparatuses.
