Hydrosphere

The Hydrosphere is the aqueous shell which includes all the natural waters - the waters of oceans, seas, lakes and rivers. It covers more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface.

The area under oceans and seas is nearly 2.5 times as great as that of the land.

In the Northern Hemisphere, continents take up 39.3 percent and oceans and seas 60.7 percent, whereas in the Southern Hemisphere the share of the continents fall merely 19.1 percent that of the oceans 80.9 percent of the area. This is the reason why the Northern Hemisphere is called Continental Hemisphere and the Southern Hemisphere is called as Oceanic Hemisphere.

Sea level observations during the last 90 years indicate that the sea level is rising slowly. This means that the climate is becoming hotter, and there is a global warming.

Distribution of Water Bodies

Of the total mass of water 97.3% (saline water) is in the oceans and inland seas. The rest 2.7% is found as glaciers and ice-caps, fresh water lakes, rivers and underground water.