The World’s Largest Lakes: Prospects for Exploitation

摘要

By the beginning of the 21st century, fresh water had become a critical resource limiting economic development. Although more than 70% of the earth’s surface is covered by water, the volume of surface waters available for exploitation is limited and their distribution across the planet is extremely uneven. The total volume of freshwater is about 35 million cubic kilometers [1], which is a small part (2.53%) of the total water mass. Its main share is contained in glaciers (~68.7%) and underground sources (~30%) [1]; at the same time, the amount of river and lake waters relatively available for exploitation is only 0.3%.