The ocean is important and critical to sustain life on earth. it puts oxygen into the atmosphere and takes carbon dioxide out. The ocean absorbs two billion metric tons of carbon a year which is a third of the total emitted by humans. This process might help slow global warming. Liquid water is important but so are its gaseous and solids states that help cool the air and surface of the earth. When snow and ice melt, which is water as a solid, land and sea absorb more heat and temperatures rise higher thus snow and ice melt faster. Snow of Greenland, Arctic sea ice, and ice sheets of Antarctica are all melting; as are the snows as Kilimanjaro. Therefore the oceans are rising. As temperature rises, ice melts, as in Kilimanjaro, causing temperature to rise faster. Plants and animals move toward the poles and to higher altitudes. Some species adapted to cool mountaintops have nowhere to move and will become extinct. Clouds, water in its gaseous state, bring rain and snow. These help plants survive, fill reservoirs, moderate sunlight. But if clouds become polluted, these can turn into heat absorbers.
This article was a good example of hypothesis based science. This is because scientists hypothesized and experimented by doing research in order to get results. This article teaches us the importance of water to us and life. How humans use fresh water, for drinking, agriculture, industry, electricity, transportation, recreation, waste disposal, and in many other ways, affects how much clean water will be available in the future. Wether or not water will continue to support us depends on the treatment we give to it. Also, how responsible humans are due to global warming and drastic climatic changes.
Author: Paul Preuss
Title: Water: Science Looks at the Source of Life
Journal: Berkley Lab
Date published: January 5 2010
URL: http://www.lbl.gov/Publications/YOS/Jun/index.html
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