According to the U.S. Geological Services, approximately 71% of the earth is covered in water, leaving 29% covered in land. Interestingly, of this 71% of water, 96.5% is found in the earth’s oceans, meaning only a small percentage of the earth's water is fresh water. An even smaller percentage is available for human consumption, as just over 30% is trapped as groundwater. In fact, over 68% of all fresh water on earth is found in glaciers or ice, making it currently unavailable for human consumption. This makes issues such as melting ice paramount because it decreases the amount of overall freshwater, as well as potentially leading to the loss of some landmass currently above water. While it is hard to predict exactly how the ratio of landmass to water will shift with the melting of glaciers and ice, it is an important metric to keep track of moving forward.
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