Water Day, Every Day

March 22 is World Water Day. In reality, it is hard to imagine a day on Earth without water. Water is the substance most associated with life on our planet. Almost all of the water on Earth exists in the ocean at any given time and all of the water passes through the ocean at some point. The ocean also governs Earth’s climate, including such things as where and how much rain or snow will fall, which can play a part in determining the fate of entire civilizations. The ocean also takes in the flow of rivers around the world, cycling carbon, nutrients, and other chemicals through the environment and helping sustain countless living things, including humans. (Photo by Bernhard Peucker-Ehrenbrink, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)