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Water is the chemical substance with chemical formula H 2 O; one molecule of water has two hydrogen atoms covalently bonded to a single oxygen atom. [26] Water is a tasteless, odorless liquid at ambient temperature and pressure. Liquid water has weak absorption bands at wavelengths of around 750 nm which cause it to appear to have a blue color. [4]
Water quality refers to the chemical, physical, and biological characteristics of water based on the standards of its usage. [ 1 ] [ 2 ] It is most frequently used by reference to a set of standards against which compliance, generally achieved through treatment of the water, can be assessed.
Water is also central to acid-base neutrality and enzyme function. An acid, a hydrogen ion (H +, that is, a proton) donor, can be neutralized by a base, a proton acceptor such as a hydroxide ion (OH −) to form water. Water is considered to be neutral, with a pH (the negative log of the hydrogen ion concentration) of 7 in an ideal state.
The term “water quality” more broadly refers to many characteristics of water, including temperature, dissolved oxygen, the amount of nutrients, or the presence of algal blooms. How clear the water appears is only one component of water quality. [1] [5] [47] An underwater ecosystem can have high water clarity yet low water quality, and vice ...
An oceanographic water mass is an identifiable body of water with a common formation history which has physical properties distinct from surrounding water. Properties include temperature , salinity , chemical - isotopic ratios, and other physical quantities which are conservative flow tracers .
A body of frozen water constrained by topographical features: Ice sheet: A body of frozen water more than 50,000 km 2: Inlet: a body of water, usually seawater, which has characteristics of one or more of the following: bay, cove, estuary, firth, fjord, geo, sea loch, or sound. Kettle (or kettle lake)
Thermal image of a sink full of hot water with cold water being added, showing how the hot and the cold water flow into each other. Liquid is one of the four primary states of matter, with the others being solid, gas and plasma. A liquid is a fluid. Unlike a solid, the molecules in a liquid have a much greater freedom to move. The forces that ...
Water vapor concentration for this gas mixture is 0.4%. Water vapor is a greenhouse gas in the Earth's atmosphere, responsible for 70% of the known absorption of incoming sunlight, particularly in the infrared region, and about 60% of the atmospheric absorption of thermal radiation by the Earth known as the greenhouse effect. [25]