# data[].attributes.body
Use AISR log in

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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How Water Shapes the Earth- multiple language options

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How Water Shapes the Earth- multiple language options

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Also on G4 - Process that Shape the Earth

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Water Bodies for Kids | What are the different bodies of water?

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The Wonders of Cycles: Patterns in Our World

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The Wonders of Cycles: Patterns in Our World

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The Wonders of Cycles: Understanding Patterns in Our World

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Use AISR log in

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US centric

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Distribution and Uses of Water | PBS LearningMedia

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Learn about the distribution of water on Earth and how available and accessible freshwater is used and replenished by precipitation with this NASA video and graphic. This resource provides opportunities for students to ask questions as well as plot and analyze data on the distribution and uses of water on Earth.

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(Also on G4 Earth's Surface padlet)

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Explore the mechanism, effects and prevalence of landslides triggered by rainfall with an animation, maps, and images. This resource gives students an opportunity to observe a simulated landslide and the effects of real landslides, ask questions about the natural process and its impacts, and analyze data on the location of landslides across the globe.

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Linking Vegetation Growth (biosphere) to Rainfall

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Linking Vegetation Growth (biosphere) to Rainfall

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Linking Vegetation Growth to Rainfall | PBS LearningMedia

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Analyze interactions between Earth's biosphere and hydrosphere with maps and videos based on NASA satellite data for 2015. Visualizing and comparing global precipitation and vegetation data enable students to identify patterns and uncover cause-and-effect relationships between the two Earth systems.

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Salt and Freshwater Distribution on Earth

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Salt and Freshwater Distribution on Earth

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Salt Water and Freshwater Distribution on Earth | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Learn about the distribution of water on Earth with these NASA and USGS graphics. This resource enables students to visualize and interpret data on water availability and distribution.

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Learn how drip irrigation helps conserve water as compared with traditional irrigation methods in this video from the California Academy of Sciences. This resource stimulates students’ thinking about protecting this limited resource. Students can ask questions, develop a model, and make evidence-based claims about the efficiencies of some irrigation methods for agricultural use.

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Gross Science | Can Bird Poop Make Clouds? Third party materials: Flickr/Ingrid Taylor, Wikimedia Commons/Mrmariokartguy, Wikimedia Commons/J.R. Mann, Flickr/Jennifer Boyer, Flickr/Gary Bembridge, Wikimedia Commons/Henning Allmers, halmers@uos.de, Freesound/StateAardvark (used with permission from author), Freesound/Corsica_S, Freesound/joedeshon, Freesound/bennychico11.

©2017 WGBH Educational Foundation. All Rights Reserved.

Evapotranspiration - Video

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Conceptual Image Lab

Music: AndrewWeiss/Pond5

Evaporation - Video

NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center Scientific Visualization Studio. The topographic data used in the video are unpublished but courtesy of Ian Howat, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH. The MOG mosaic (MODIS) is courtesy of T. Scambos, NSDIC, Bouder, CO. The Blue Marble data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC).

Precipitation - Video

NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Transport - Video

Scientific Visualization Studio The Blue Marble data is courtesy of Reto Stockli (NASA/GSFC).

Music: Story Of A New by Figure and Groove Productions.

Rivers & lakes - Video

NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Music: Story Of A New by Figure and Groove Productions.

Groundwater - Image

The Groundwater Foundation.

Surface runoff - Image

J.J. Gouin/Shutterstock

Hydrothermal vents - Image

NOAA

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The Water Cycle: A Global View | PBS LearningMedia

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Learn about the water cycle through animations and data visualizations from NASA. Use this resource to view the movement of water between the ocean, atmosphere, and land and to explore the factors that influence the movement of water from different perspectives.

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Precipitation on Earth | PBS LearningMedia

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Observe how precipitation develops, evolves, and moves across the globe with this NASA animation. This resource can stimulate student curiosity and interest in global precipitation patterns and provide opportunities for students to ask scientific questions that can be researched.

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(Also on G4 Earth's Surface padlet)

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(maybe too advanced)

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National Geographic World Water Map (interactive)

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National Geographic World Water Map (interactive)

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Image

National Geographic Society/Esri

Map Summary: National Geographic's interactive map called the World Water Map tells the story of how human water use impacts the global water cycle. Based on hydrological models made by Utrecht University and built using Esri's GIS technology, the World Water Map illuminates where and why human water consumption has soared - so much so that people in many regions are using more water than the rivers and groundwater can sustain.

By using water to irrigate crops, to operate factories and power plants, or for household needs, people in some areas of the world are using more water than the water cycle can provide. With the human population on the rise and facing climate change, depleting the earth's water resources will increasingly threaten the health of people, wildlife, and ecosystems.

But human water consumption can change. By mapping the world's water shortages and visualizing the gaps between water supply and demand, we can more specifically understand how to change policy and behavior to more effectively sustain this natural resource.

Map Location: Worldwide. Learners can type a location into the World Water Map to zoom in on the status of a particular area's water resources. The map illuminates hotspots around the world where people's demand for water far exceeds renewable water availability.

National Geographic Explorer: National Geographic Explorer and hydrology professor Marc Bierkins developed the global model that is the basis for the information in the World Water Map, alongside Niko Wanders, Bram Droppers, Myrthe Leijnse, and the rest of Bierkins' team at Utrecht University in the Netherlands.

The map is enhanced with stories from additional National Geographic Explorers who are documenting freshwater challenges in their communities, such as:

Explorer and scientist Adjany Costa, collecting plants and water samples near Cubango, Angola

Explorer and biologist/science communicator Prasenjeet Yadav, sharing stories of Western Ghats, India

Explorer's Questions/Goals:
Are there areas of the world where water usage is exceeding renewable supply? Will enough water be available in the future for a growing population in the face of climate change, urban development, and other stressors? Where and why are water shortages occurring? How can we better manage water resources moving forward?

Data Collected: The information collected by Bierkins and his team includes more than 40 years of historical data. The model calculates the available surface and groundwater in an area from data on weather, soil, and vegetation, as well as domestic, industrial, and agricultural water usage, the three key drivers of water demand. The team will continue to update the model with new data.

January 22, 2024

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National Geographic's interactive World Water Map tells the story of how human water use impacts the global water cycle.

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A rain shadow is a patch of land that has become a desert because mountain ranges block much of the rainfall necessary for plant growth.

Subjects

Earth Science, Geology, Meteorology, Geography, Physical Geography

A rain shadow is a patch of land that has been forced to become a desert because mountain ranges blocked all plant-growing, rainy weather. On one side of the mountain, wet weather systems drop rain and snow. On the other side of the mountain-the rain shadow side-all that precipitation is blocked.

In a rain shadow, it's warm and dry. On the other side of the mountain, it's wet and cool. Why is there a difference? When an air mass moves from a low elevation to a high elevation, it expands and cools. This cool air cannot hold moisture as well as warm air. Cool air forms clouds, which drop rain and snow, as it rises up a mountain. After the air mass crosses over the peak of the mountain and starts down the other side, the air warms up and the clouds dissipate. That means there is less rainfall.

You'll often find rain shadows next to some of the world's most famous mountain ranges. Death Valley, a desert in the U.S. states of California and Nevada, is so hot and dry because it is in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. The Tibetan Plateau, a rain shadow in Tibet, China, and India has the enormous Himalaya mountain range to thank for its dry climate.

Fast Fact

Can't Catch a Break (or a Raindrop)
Death Valley faces a double-whammy of being located in the rain shadow of the Pacific Coast Range AND the Sierra Nevada. This is why Death Valley is one of the hottest, driest places on Earth.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Illustrators

Mary Crooks, National Geographic Society

Editors

Jeannie Evers, Emdash Editing, Emdash Editing

Producer

National Geographic Society

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

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Interactives

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# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
A rain shadow is a patch of land that has become a desert because mountain ranges block much of the rainfall necessary for plant growth.

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Might not suit the needs of the unit

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Create your climate! Terraforma allows you to create the world around you to fit the perfect climate for your population. With knowing the location, season, and time of day, you can change the terrain to fit their climate needs.

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Manu, Peru, 2015 — Matsigenka boys fishing with barbasco root.Photo by Charlie Hamilton James

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National Geographic Society World Water Map

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The World Water Map helps us understand where and why water gaps arise, how climate change might aggravate them—and even how they might be managed.

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In photographs taken from space, we can see that our planet has more water than land. It is unexpected and somewhat inconceivable that less than three percent of Earth's water is fresh water. According to the U.S. Geological Survey, most of that three percent is inaccessible. More than 68 percent of the fresh water on Earth is found in icecaps and glaciers, and just over 30 percent is found in ground water. Only about 0.3 percent of our fresh water is found in the surface water of lakes, rivers, and swamps. Of all the water on Earth, more than 99 percent of Earth's water is unusable by humans and many other living things. It seems extraordinary that the water that supports all terrestrial, as well as aquatic, life on our planet is actually so scarce. With this stunning realization comes a recognition that we have to use this resource very wisely. An important first step is to educate ourselves and future generations of citizens.

We can make better consumer, voter, and community member choices when we are informed about how we use resources, the ramifications of misuse, and solutions and actions to prevent freshwater issues. This guide was developed to support teachers in teaching topics with real-world context, and provide them with the background to feel competent and comfortable when teaching about fresh water. It provides a solid introduction to fresh water in an accessible and reader-friendly manner. In addition to general information about fresh water, the guide includes numerous education features, such as teaching tips and student thinking, that help to connect the content to classroom practice.

Scroll through our resources above and click to download the book or individual chapters. Having trouble downloading? Use the links below.

Earth's Fresh Water: Full Teacher Guide
Chapter 1: Biodiversity in Fresh Water
Chapter 2: Water Cycle and Water Reservoirs
Chapter 3: Changing Natural Flows of Water
Chapter 4: Water Quality in Freshwater Systems
Chapter 5: Water Concerns for Wildlife and Humans
Chapter 6: Water Rights and Human Communities
Chapter 7: Water Solutions for Our Future

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Writers

Ari J. Posner, M.S. Urban Planning

Beth A. Covitt, Ph.D. Environmental Education and Conservation Psychology

Tania T. Hinojosa, M.Ed. Educational Technology

Jose Marcos-Iga, Ph.D. Natural Resources

Marcia S. Matz, M.A. Design

Tara G. Treiber, B.A. Natural Sciences: Ecology

Sandra Postel, National Geographic Fellow

Abraham Miller-Rushing, Ph.D. Biology

Anica Miller-Rushing, M.Ed. Curriculum and Instruction

Lindsey Mohan, Ph.D. Educational Psychology and Technology

Editors

Kristen Dell, National Geographic Society

Educator Reviewers

Catie Boarts, Heal the Bay

Beth A. Covitt, University of Montana

Meghan E. Marrero, New York State Marine Education

Sandra Postel, National Geographic Fellow

other

Last Updated

January 26, 2024

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

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Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

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Most people have heard Earth referred to as "the water planet." With that name comes the rightful image of a world with plentiful water. In photographs taken from space, we can see that our planet has more water than land.

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Image

Photograph by Education Images

Every living thing on Earth needs water to survive, but more than 100,000 species, including our own, need a special kind of water that can only be found in certain places and is in very rare supply: fresh water. The plants, animals, microbes, rocks, soil, sunlight, and water found in and around this valuable resource are all part of what is called a freshwater ecosystem. Less than three percent of our planet's water is fresh water, and less than half of that is available as a liquid; the rest is locked away as ice in polar caps and glaciers. For these reasons, freshwater ecosystems are a precious resource.

Where is Fresh Water?

Fresh water starts out as water vapor that has evaporated from the surface of oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water. When this vapor rises, it leaves salts and other contaminants behind and becomes "fresh." The water vapor collects in drifting clouds that eventually release the water back to Earth in the form of rain or snow.

After fresh water reaches the ground through precipitation, it flows downhill across a landscape called the watershed to lakes, ponds, rivers, streams, and wetlands. But fresh water can be found in less-obvious places, too. More than half of all fresh water on our planet seeps through soil and between rocks to form aquifers that are filled with groundwater. The top surface of an aquifer is called the water table, and this is the depth where wells are drilled to bring fresh water into cities and homes.

Studying Freshwater Ecosystems

On the volcanic island nation of Iceland, explorer Jónína Herdís Ólafsdóttir studies freshwater ecosystems that develop from groundwater seeping into fissures. These fissures are large cracks, which are caused by the tectonic plates underneath the country shifting and pulling the bedrock apart. The crystal blue water in these fissures is barely above freezing temperature. Wearing scuba gear, Olafsdóttir drops into the water and collects biological samples, recording notes about the species of fish, crustaceans, algae, and other microbes that she finds. She was one of the first scientists ever to describe the biodiversity in these Icelandic fissure ecosystems.

Scientists who study freshwater ecosystems are called limnologists. Limnologists want to learn what creatures live in an ecosystem and how they interact with each other through the ecosystem's food web, as well as how they interact with their environment. This knowledge can help the researchers know when a freshwater ecosystem is healthy and when it may be in danger.

Balancing Change

Freshwater ecosystems naturally share resources between habitats. The ecosystems in rivers and streams, for example, bring salts and nutrients from the mountains to lakes, ponds, and wetlands at lower elevations, and eventually they bring those nutrients to the ocean. These waterways also enable migrating species, like salmon, to bring nutrients from the ocean to upstream freshwater ecosystems.

Lakes and ponds, on the other hand, can exchange nutrients in a seasonal cycle. Cold water is denser than warm water, so it sinks to the bottom, where a fairly steady temperature is maintained. However, as the air temperature drops with the arrival of winter, the water that is closest to the surface may drop below the temperature of the water at the bottom of the lake, causing it to sink and the warmer bottom water to rise. The same process happens as floating surface ice melts into very cold water in the spring. During these periods, nutrients are churned from the floor and brought to the surface.

It is normal for ecosystems to encounter change. Temperatures may fluctuate, populations may rise and fall, and rain may bring an abundance of water, then taper during drought. The plants, animals, and microbes in healthy freshwater ecosystems are resilient and have adaptations that allow them to adjust appropriately until ideal conditions resume. However, if any element of the ecosystem varies too far outside of the norm, the balance of the whole system can start to fail.

Signs of Danger

Humans use fresh water in many ways, but these activities can be dangerous for freshwater ecosystems when we are not careful. Overfishing, pollution, and disruption of the landscape through projects like dams and deforestation are just a few ways we can put these ecosystems-and ultimately, our own access to fresh water-at risk. When the changes we cause are too great or too sudden, then ecosystems struggle to bounce back.

An example of this kind of sudden change is when an invasive species enters an area, which happened in 2009 near the city of Madison, Wisconsin, when the spiny water flea ( Bythotrephes longimanus) was detected in Lake Mendota. The spiny water flea, native to Russian and European lakes, came to North America in the 1980s with cargo ships that had traveled across the Atlantic and down the St. Lawrence River to the Great Lakes. Eventually, these tiny stowaways were carried over land to Lake Mendota, and that is where they unleashed a cascade of havoc.

Spiny water fleas love to eat Daphnia pulicaria plankton, which are important to the Lake Mendota ecosystem, because they eat green algae that would otherwise grow out of control. D. pulicaria is also a key food source for fish in the lake. As the population of spiny water fleas increased, algae began to overgrow and lower the oxygen content of the water, causing the fish to die and the lake water to grow murky. Ten years later, spiny water fleas are still thriving in Lake Mendota and now, a new invasive species, the zebra mussel ( Dreissena polymorpha), is taking over the lake floor. Once an invasive species becomes established in a freshwater ecosystem, it is nearly impossible to get it out.

Scientists like Canadian aquatic ecologist Dalal Hanna can help avoid disasters like these by studying ecosystems and identifying points of human interaction that might cause trouble. Hanna has researched freshwater fish in African streams and birds that live near freshwater ecosystems in Canada. Today, she is developing useful measures and management strategies so communities can gauge how to balance their need for "ecosystem services" like drinking water, recreation, and flood prevention with the health of the freshwater ecosystems upon which they rely.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society

Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society, National Geographic Society

Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

Specialist, Content Production

Producer

André Gabrielli, National Geographic Society

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

For information on user permissions, please read our Terms of Service. If you have questions about how to cite anything on our website in your project or classroom presentation, please contact your teacher. They will best know the preferred format. When you reach out to them, you will need the page title, URL, and the date you accessed the resource.

Media

If a media asset is downloadable, a download button appears in the corner of the media viewer. If no button appears, you cannot download or save the media.

Text

Text on this page is printable and can be used according to our Terms of Service.

Interactives

Any interactives on this page can only be played while you are visiting our website. You cannot download interactives.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The world's demand for fresh water is high, though there is a limited supply. How can we be more responsible with this crucial resource and its ecosystems?

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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instant access to thousands of great kids books.

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Instantly access 40,000 high-quality books for kids

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The leading digital library for kids offering unlimited access to 40,000 of the best children's books of all time. Sign up for a free 30 day trial to instantly access high-quality online books for kids, ebooks, audio books, quizzes, videos, and more.

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Get unlimited access to 40,000 of the best books, audiobooks, videos, & more for kids 12 and under. Try it free.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Get access to files anywhere through secure cloud storage and file backup for your photos, videos, files and more with Google Drive.

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The Basics of Freshwater: Crash Course Kids 14.1

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NASA | Science for a Hungry World: Part 5

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Four Spheres Part 1 (Geo and Bio): Crash Course Kids #6.1

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Four Spheres Part 2 (Hydro and Atmo): Crash Course Kids #6.2

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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Description

This interactive module allows students and educators to build models that explain how the Earth system works. The Click & Learn can be used to show how Earth is affected by human activities and natural phenomena.

Earth is a dynamic place with many components that interact and shape our habitats. Using this Click & Learn, students and teachers can create visualizations of the connections among different processes, activities, and measurable changes, each represented by a separate icon.

Depending on the lesson, students can swap out other images for the background image in the model. They draw arrows between icons to indicate cause-and-effect relationships, each of which can be annotated with relevant evidence or explanations. Students can save, edit, and share their models, and/or display the model's components on an infographic, which provides a visual table of contents for the causes and consequences of global changes.

The "Educator Materials" document provides implementation suggestions, including an example instructional sequence. The "Icons" document contains printable tiles of the icons in the Click & Learn. The "Ocean Acidification Model" ZIP file contains an example model that can be used in the Click & Learn. The "UGC poster" file contains the framework and example system models that can be used as a resource or reference.

The "Google Digital Whiteboard" contains the Earth system modeling tools, including the icons, Earth scene, and simplified Understanding Global Change (UGC) framework. Google Jamboard is an interactive cloud-based workspace that allows students to collaboratively construct online models during distance learning or in one-to-one computing environments. Additional materials are available on the UC Berkeley's Museum of Paleontology website for Understanding Global Change.

Student Learning Targets

Construct system models to explain how one change in the Earth system can produce measurable effects in other parts of the system (e.g., changes in ecosystems and the climate system).

Details

One to several 50-minute class periods, depending on how it is used.

climate, cycle, Earth, environment, flowchart, infographic, phenomenon, process, system model, systems thinking

PDF files meet criteria. Interactive media meets criteria. Spanish files meet criteria.

Curriculum Connections

HS-LS2.A, HS-LS2.B, HS-LS2.C, HS-ESS2.A, HS-ESS2.D, HS-ESS2.E, HS-ESS3.A, HS-ESS3.C; SEP2

ENE-1.N, ENE-4.B, ENE-4.C, SYI-1.G, SYI-1.H, SYI-2.B, SYI-2.C; SP2

AP Environmental Science (2020)

Topic(s): 1.1, 1.4, 1.5, 1.6, 1.7, 2.5, 3.8, 5.2, 5.4, 5.8, 5.9, 5.10, 5.12, 6.5, 6.7, 6.8, 6.9, 6.10, 6.12, 7.1, 7.4, 8.2, 8.5, 8.9, 9.3, 9.4, 9.5, 9.6, 9.7, 9.8, 9.9, 9.10, 4.1, 4.2, 4.4, 4.5, 4.8
Learning Objectives & Practices: ERT-1.A, ERT-2, ERT-1.E, ERT-1.F, ERT-1.G, ERT-2.G, EIN-1.C, EIN-2.B, EIN-2.D, EIN-2.J, EIN-2.K, EIN-2.M, STB-1.A, ENG-3.E, ENG-3.I, ENG-3.J, ENG-3.L, ENG-3.N, ENG-3.R, STB-2.A, STB-2.D, STB-3.B, STB-3.F, STB-3.K, STB-4.C, STB-4.E, STB-4.F, STB-4.G, STB-4.H, EIN-4.A, EIN-4.B, EIN-4.C, ERT-4.A, ERT-4.B, ERT-4.D, ERT-4.E, ENG-2.B, SP1, SP2

IB Environmental Systems and Societies (2017)

2.1, 2.2, 2.3, 3.1, 4.1, 5.1, 6.1, 7.2, 8.2

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Description This interactive module allows students and educators to build models that explain how the Earth system works. The Click & Learn can be used to show how Earth is affected by human activities and natural phenomena. Earth is a dynamic place with many components that interact and shape our habitats.

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Water Cycle Animation | Clue into Climate

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Water Cycle Animation | Clue into Climate

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Water Cycle Animation | Clue into Climate | PBS LearningMedia

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These animation sequences are simulations and are not meant to represent a specific region. The climate change-induced scenarios depicted are designed to illustrate changes to the water cycle that may occur over many years. These changes are dependent on location, human impact and many other factors.

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Climate Change & the Water Cycle Transcript

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Climate Change & the Water Cycle Transcript

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(transcript for PBS Learning Media Clue into Climate animations)

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a great series with many connections but VERY local to Arizona

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The Watershed | Salt River Project | PBS LearningMedia

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The videos in this collection will give an understanding that a watershed includes a healthy forest, undergrowth, creeks, streams and rivers that all drain toward a large body of water—in this case, the Salt and Verde Rivers. These components work together to store and filter water as it moves through the watershed.

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This animation illustrates the main stages of the water cycle in Gorongosa National Park, an ecosystem that experiences both wet and dry seasons.

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Generation Genius reading material

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Generation Genius reading material

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Geosphere, Biosphere, Hydrosphere & Atmosphere | Fun Science Lesson

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Did you know that there are 4 spheres of earth that all interact together? Learn abuot Earth's four spheres for kids in 3rd, 4th and 5th grade!

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long- 16 minutes

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Earth's Four Spheres - Geosphere, Hydrosphere, Atmosphere and Biosphere

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The Geosphere | PBS NC Science | PBS LearningMedia

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Take a journey to Earth’s geosphere with this animation, which peels back the layers of our planet from the hard crust at its surface to the fiery mantle and solid metal that compose its core.
This animation is also a component of PBS NC’s Three Spheres Interactive Lesson, which is part of PBS NC’s Interactive Lesson Collection on PBS LearningMedia.

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List of the Largest Dams in Saudi Arabia

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List of the Largest Dams in Saudi Arabia

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from "Saudipedia"

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List of the Largest Dams in Saudi Arabia

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Dams in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are an important source of water for developing population centers and agricultural areas adjacent to valley paths. The storage capacity of dam…

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high complexity

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Economy

As of 2019, KSA's nominal gross domestic product (GDP) was $792.97 billion.[11] Figure 4 illustrates GDP growth between 1970 and 2019. GDP recorded an annual growth of 0.3% in 2019.

The main economic activities include crude petroleum and natural gas, which accounted for 27.4% of GDP, followed by government services (19.4%) and wholesale and retail trade, restaurants hotels (10%). Agriculture, forestry and fishing, and electricity, gas and water activities accounted for 2.2% and 1.6%, respectively.[12]

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Water in the Saudi Arabia (KSA) is scarce and valuable because of the lack of natural water bodies. Climate change and population

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high complexity

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Surface runoff at dams is the main surface water resource in KSA. The recorded average rainfall in 2019 was 59 mm, and the surface runoff at

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Interactive activities about water topics including water cycle, ocean, fresh water, watersheds, water conservation and protection, indirect and direct water use and water and health for elementary and middle school students and their teachers.

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Understanding the Environmental Impacts of Desalination

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Understanding the Environmental Impacts of Desalination

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Authors Takashi Hisatomi, Kazunari Domen

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Understanding the Environmental Impacts of Desalination

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Do you ever wonder how people in the driest parts of the world survive? Where does their water come from, and how do they grow their plants? They cannot rely on rain because it is so rare. Maybe they use underground water wells, but wells often dry up and are not sustainable for a large population. How do these people stay alive? The answer is desalination, a process that turns salty seawater into clean drinking water. But this life-saving process uses a lot of energy and creates lots of bad emissions that can harm the environment. Fortunately, by using a special tool called life cycle assessment, we can understand how bad desalination is for the environment and learn how to reduce its effects. This article will talk about desalination, its environmental side effects, and how we use life cycle assessments to make desalination more environmentally friendly.

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Authors Hanna M. Kauko, Mar Fernández-Méndez, Amelie Meyer, Anja Rösel, Polona Itkin, Robert M. Graham, Alexey K. Pavlov

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We know that the more greenhouse gases are released, the more the world warms. But, at a certain point, could a small amount of extra greenhouse gas cause a very big change in the climate? And could this big change be irreversible? When a small change causes a very large (and long-term) effect, we c…

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What's the difference between lakes and reservoirs?

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What's the difference between lakes and reservoirs?

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Understanding Differences Between Lakes and Reservoirs

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There are many examples of how human activities alter species’ habitats, including the damming of lakes or rivers to create reservoirs. We build dams to create reservoirs that provide water and generate electricity for human needs. Scientists have learned that building new dams and creating reservoirs on lakes and rivers changes the local habitat, making it unsuitable for many species that once lived there. Through processes known as environmental flows, reservoirs can be operated to resemble natural lakes. However, we have not kept good records of where we built reservoirs, so scientists have devised creative ways to map where these and associated dams occur across the globe. When we know where reservoirs and dams occur, we are better prepared to determine how these have altered surface water on the planet and impacted animals, plants, and humans.

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How We Will Control the Weather in 100 Years

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How We Will Control the Weather in 100 Years

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Epic video

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Long 16+min

Compilation of different water concepts

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Might be hard to connect to Riyadh!

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Use AISR log in

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BrainPOP - Animated Educational Site for Kids - Science, Social Studies, English, Math, Arts & Music, Health, and Technology

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Use AISR log in

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Enter the Access ID and Passcode provided by your school to access Britannica School.

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Enter the Access ID and Passcode provided by your school to access Britannica School.

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Enter the Access ID and Passcode provided by your school to access Britannica School.

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Goal 6: Clean water and sanitation - The Global Goals

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Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.

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Free teacher sign up required

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We promote use of the Sustainable Development Goals in learning so that children can contribute to a better future for all. From citizenship and justice to climate change and the environment, inspire children to make a difference!

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The World's Largest Lesson | Global Goals

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World's Largest Lesson- Goal 6 teacher resources

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World's Largest Lesson- Goal 6 teacher resources

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Goal 6 - Clean Water and Sanitation | The World's Largest Lesson

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Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all.