Question

Describe the role of the following in making the earth a habitable planet.

Water

Answer 1

Water 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by water. Water plays the following role:

1. It is responsible for moderating the climate and surface conditions of the earth.
2. Water from seas, rivers, and lakes evaporates into the atmosphere, where it condenses and falls back as precipitation. Most of the water on land flows back to the oceans. Thus, water moves in a continuous cycle, the hydrological cycle. There is a proper balance between evaporation, condensation, and precipitation, without which life would not be possible.
3. Water can absorb enormous amounts of heat without causing much change in its temperature. During the day, waterbodies rapidly absorb an enormous amount of heat; thus, the earth remains fairly cool. At night, the waterbodies release vast amounts of heat that they absorbed during the day, which, along with other atmospheric effects, keep most of the surface from freezing at night.