What kind of water is in the melting arctic ice? Is it fresh water or salty ocean water?

Question

If it's drinking water, should we hurry and start bottling while it's drinkable?

What if there are things frozen in the ice, like dinosaurs or bacteria?

Answer 1

Arctic ice is made of frozen sea water.  Therefore, it is salt water and wouldn't be appropriate to drink.  It would be cool if we could drink it though!

Answer 2

Fresh water.

No.  We can find more fresh water here in the continents where people live that's easier to obtain.

There aren't.  At least, nothing that would be alive when it's thawed.

Answer 3

Believe it or not, the ice that is floating on all that salt water...is infact fresh, saltless water.  Salt doesn't freze very well.

Question Answered!

Answer 4

It is a cycle that happens every year.  The arctic ocean freezes solid in the winter.  This is salt water, of course.  Then, throughout winter and spring, snow falls putting a small layer of fresh water on top.  So, the ice is MOSTLY sea water, but is diluted a little with fresh water.

Answer 5

Its fresh water.  That is why its such an important item.  Putting that much fresh water into the salty ocean will dilute it and stop the massive currents that we see.  If these currents stop, all weather globally will change almost instantly.  UK region for example will be covered in about a 1/2 mile of ice.

Answer 6

ICE AND GLAZIERS 74% FRESH WATER

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25% of the planets surface is land

75%of the surface is water and it is rising

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97%of the Earths water is salt

fresh water is only 3% of all the Earths water

most of it is beyond out reach

now much ice is melting and running into the seas fresh water lost for ever.

STORAGE or Location of % of the fresh water

ice and glaziers 74%

groundwater 800 meters + 13.5 %

groundwater less than 800meters 11.o%

Lakes 0.3%

soils 0.006%

Atmospheric in circulation 0.0035%

rivers 0.03%

frozen land or permafrost is not included and represent an unavailable storage of 40%

so of the 3% about 11.6 ,is easily available to us ,in rivers, lakes and ground water surface aquifers,more and more of this is becoming contaminated

overpopulation of an extra 70 million people a year (increasing all the time )and expanding agriculture ,which uses 70% of available potable water supplies ,has brought the good(sweet) water suplies to critical levels ,some countries have been in trouble already quite a while .

now climate change and desertification because of irresponsible agriculture ,overgrazing and deforrestation is damaging world fresh water production .

it is a good reason for concern and if we do not rectify matters by changing agricultural methods ,reforrest ,stop deforrestation,become more economic with water use ,stop producing more people ,stop wasting and contaminating water, we will be in serious trouble all round

and could end up looking like Mars

And right now there is a rush going on ,like the gold rush ,but for ice from the south pole in big ships,to sell as bottled water

Answer 7

Icebergs freshly snapped off a glacier or ice shelf are pure fresh water thousands of years old.

Older icebergs which have been floating around in the ocean for a while can be green, which is frozen salt water so don't drink that.

Answer 8

its all fresh water and we have plenty in the ground water.   that would be a consern if a virus survied the ice and infects some one that brings that virus into major citys

Answer 9

Fresh Water, which is why it's scary. Too much freshwater will mess up the salinity of the North Atlantic and shut down parts of the global ocean circulation, namely the Gulf Stream.

Now I know that sounds like the Day After Tomorrow but although that movie was completely exaggerated and ridiculous, it was based (very partially off of science).