n. (correctly spelled
fresh water) -
Water in which the
concentration of dissolved
salt is below levels
detectable by the
human taste buds, which is less than 0.5 parts per thousand (ppt).
Fresh-water bodies include
lakes,
rivers, most bodies of
underground water known as
aquifers, and the water
frozen in
glaciers and
polar icecaps. The
ultimate source of fresh water is the
precipitation of the
atmosphere in the form of
rain,
snow,
sleet or
hail.
Only about 3 to 5% of the water on
Earth (i.e., in the atmosphere, on the
surface and
inside the
crust) is fresh water, and most that fresh water lies frozen in glaciers and polar icecaps.
The
adjective that
describes something about fresh water, or an
organism living in fresh water, is correctly spelled
freshwater.