The hydrosphere (from Greek ὕδωρ hydōr, "water"[1] and σφαῖρα sphaira, "sphere"[2]) is the

combined mass of water found on, under, and above the surface of a planet, minor planet or
natural satellite. Although the hydrosphere has been around for longer than 4 billion years, it
continues to change in size. This is caused by sea floor spreading and continental drift, which
rearranges the land and ocean. [3]

It has been estimated that there are 1,386 million cubic kilometers of water on Earth.[4] This
includes water in liquid and frozen forms in groundwater, oceans, lakes and streams. Saltwater
accounts for 97.5% of this amount. Fresh water accounts for only 2.5%. Of this fresh water,
68.9% is in the form of ice and permanent snow cover in the Arctic, the Antarctic, and mountain
glaciers. 30.8% is in the form of fresh groundwater. Only 0.3% of the fresh water on Earth is in
easily accessible lakes, reservoirs and river systems.[4] The total mass of the Earth's hydrosphere
is about 1.4 × 1018 tonnes, which is about 0.023% of Earth's total mass. About 20 × 1012 tonnes
of this is in Earth's atmosphere (for practical purposes, 1 cubic meter of water weighs one tonne).
Approximately 71% of Earth's surface, an area of some 361 million square kilometers (139.5
million square miles), is covered by ocean. The average salinity of Earth's oceans is about
35 grams of salt per kilogram of sea water (3.5%).[

An ocean (from Ancient Greek Ὠκεανός, transc. Okeanós[1]) is a body of saline water that
composes much of a planet's hydrosphere.[2] On Earth, an ocean is one of the major conventional
divisions of the World Ocean. These are, in descending order by area, the Pacific, Atlantic,
Indian, Southern (Antarctic), and Arctic Oceans.[3][4] The word "ocean" is often used
interchangeably with "sea" in American English. Strictly speaking, a sea is a body of saline
water (generally a division of the world ocean) partly or fully enclosed by land,[5] though "the
sea" refers also to the oceans.

Saline water covers approximately 361,000,000 km2 (139,000,000 sq mi) and is customarily
divided into several principal oceans and smaller seas, with the ocean covering approximately
71% of Earth's surface and 90% of the Earth's biosphere.[6] The ocean contains 97% of Earth's
water, and oceanographers have stated that less than 5% of the World Ocean has been
explored.[6] The total volume is approximately 1.35 billion cubic kilometers (320 million cu mi)
with an average depth of nearly 3,700 meters (12,100 ft).[7][8][9]

As the world ocean is the principal component of Earth's hydrosphere, it is integral to life, forms
part of the carbon cycle, and influences climate and weather patterns. The World Ocean is the
habitat of 230,000 known species, but because much of it is unexplored, the number of species
that exist in the ocean is much larger, possibly over two million.[10] The origin of Earth's oceans
is unknown; oceans are thought to have formed in the Hadean eon and may have been the
impetus for the emergence of life.

Extraterrestrial oceans may be composed of water or other elements and compounds. The only
confirmed large stable bodies of extraterrestrial surface liquids are the lakes of Titan, although
there is evidence for the existence of oceans elsewhere in the Solar System. Early in their
geologic histories, Mars and Venus are theorized to have had large water oceans. The Mars
ocean hypothesis suggests that nearly a third of the surface of Mars was once covered by water,
and a runaway greenhouse effect may have boiled away the global ocean of Venus. Compounds
such as salts and ammonia dissolved in water lower its freezing point so that water might exist in
large quantities in extraterrestrial environments as brine or convecting ice. Unconfirmed oceans
are speculated beneath the surface of many dwarf planets and natural satellites; notably, the
ocean of Europa is estimated to have over twice the water volume of Earth. The Solar System's
giant planets are also thought to have liquid atmospheric layers of yet to be confirmed
compositions. Oceans may also exist on exoplanets and exomoons, including surface oceans of
liquid water within a circumstellar habitable zone. Ocean planets are a hypothetical type of
planet with a surface completely covered with liquid

habit
Any action that you perform regularly as part of your routine can be called a habit. Flossing your
teeth would be considered a good habit. Sucking your thumb would be considered a bad habit,
especially as an adult.

On New Year's people always vow to break their bad habits, but bad habits die hard. The noun
habit can also refer to an established custom — like the habit of breaking bread with your family
every holiday. On a completely different note, clothing that is worn for horseback riding, or by a
nun or monk, can also be called a habit. All good nuns should be in the habit of washing their
habits.

The freshwater ecosystems are generally classified into two major groups as, lentic and lotic
ecosystems. The term Lentic ecosystems is given to standing water bodies or still water bodies. The
LENTIC Ecosystems includes all standing water bodies like Lakes, ponds, swamps or bogs. The term lotic
ecosystem is given to the flowing water bodies. The LOTIC Ecosystems include all flowing water bodies
like river, springs, creek. The subject of study of freshwater ecosystems is known as limnology. Almost all
ecological factors like temperature, light, pH, dissolved gases, dissolved salts in water, turbidity,
alkalinity, depth and areal distribution, all of these parameters play an active role in controlling the
habitat of aquatic ecosystems. Hence, it is necessary to study the freshwater ecosystems in detail. The
following aspects are highlighted in this module: 1. River Ecosystem 2. Ecological factors of Rivers 3. Life
along rivers 4. Lake Ecosystem 5. Ecological factors of Lakes 6. Life in lake

Among all, one primary coastal environmental issue is water quality, which is related to coastal and
estuarial water pollution, coastal erosion, red tide and other environmental issues. The reason of water
quality decline can be multiple. In coastal regions, discharges from the treatment of urban wastewater,
industry and fishing farms are the main point-pollution sources, which contribute pollution in the form
of toxic chemicals and heavy metals, oxygen-depleting nutrients and pathogens. On the other hand,
non-point sources are more difficult to tracking. They mainly come from scattered pollution sources
brought by rainfall or melting snow or other media. Among them, agriculture is a key source, but urban
land, forestry, atmospheric deposition and rural dwellings can also make contributions. The long and
multistep pollution generation and diffusion process makes it harder to detect and forecast this
procedure. Unfortunately, its impact is not less. Complexity makes analysis and tracking on pollution
resources difficult.