Fact #432

Real Fact #432: Antarctica holds 90% of the world's fresh water.

And it's all locked up in ice.

I have heard so many different statistics about how much of our fresh water is held down south. It's hard to know who's right!

Snapple: 90%
ScienceDaily: 90%
WikiAnswers: 70%
Wikipedia: 61%
Ask.com: 99%
Will Steger Foundation: 80%
DiscoveringAntarctica.org: 70%

There are also several numbers concerning how much of the world's ice is held down there...

Planet Earth TV Series: 90%
WikiAnswers: 90%
Ask.com: 90%
Will Steger Foundation: 85%

Based on these percentages I think we can safely assume that about 90% of the ice on our planet is found in Antarctica. This makes sense. The ice on the land mass itself is several miles thick, while the north pole ice melts significantly each year.

But I digress. After all, this is a post about freshwater in general, not just ice. Or maybe not. You would not find liquid fresh water in the poles, because it's always freezing there. Salt water does not freeze at the same temperature as fresh water, hence the ocean staying largely liquid year round. So any fresh water in Antarctica is going to be frozen solid.

I have a theory: the numbers vary because of the time of year percentage may have been researched. There is a lot more ice around the poles during their perspective winters. So, if you measure the ice amount on the planet in late September, there will be  a heck of a lot more ice around the south pole than there would be up north. If you were taking measurements, say, now (early April), the reverse would be true.

The amount of ice on our planet is constantly changing because of respective climates, seasons, and sadly, global warming. Having a concrete statistic on how much freshwater is where is nearly impossible. The best we can do is take an educated guess.

That would have to be a lot of water down there. Anyone who has visited a large lake or river has probably had the thought, "That's a lot of water!" Now think about how that gigantic lake is less than one percent of the earth's fresh water. Wow.

All this talk about fresh water is making me thirsty. I think it's time for a glass of cool, refreshing fresh water with a few ice cubes in it...