German photographer Markus Reugels. Using large satellite photos as a backdrop and a high speed camera he captures the background’s refraction through water drops.

The perfectly timed shots result in these spherical representations of the Earth, Moon and Jupiter. See much more of his work here and also here. Thanks Markus for sharing your work with Colossal! Read more

Photographer Mark Tipple captured the underwater pictures with his friend Mike as the surfer. But the rough waves of the coast of the Cook Islands slammed Mike into the sea bed during the shoot, causing him to slice his skin open and badly bruise his body.

Stunning pictures of waves crashing from underneath

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There is some confusion in the water industry about the meanings and differences between water purifiers and water filters. Many industries use the two terms interchangeably to describe the same process, i.e. filtration. A technical definition of pure water would refer to water containing only hydrogen and oxygen molecules.

Such “pure” water does not occur naturally in the world. All water contains some impurities, or elements of different chemical compounds than merely hydrogen and water (Binnie et al, 2002). As water passes through streams and rivers, it carries mineral sediments with it. Ground water, the source for most municipal water systems, contains remnants of pesticides, herbicides, and industrial waste. Water generally carries several bacteria and viruses, as well. Read more

Water scarcity is a fact of life in many parts of the world, particularly in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. A new study says the situation could get a lot worse, with climate change resulting in less rain and more evaporation in many areas.

Warming will expose 668 million people worldwide to new or aggravated water scarcity – that’s in addition to the 1.3 billion people already at present living in water-scarce regions. Credit: Nourishing the Planet

The study, led by researchers at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact and Research and appearing in the journal Environmental Research Letters, looks at present commitments by countries to reduce greenhouse gases (GHGs). It says that even if these commitments or pledges are met, the global mean temperature will still rise by around 3.5°C above pre-industrial levels by the end of the century. Read more

Technically, the term “water treatment” refers to any modifications made to raw water (water from the original source, i.e. rivers, lakes, streams, etc.). Included under the umbrella term “water treatment” are both water softeners and water filters. For this reason, the functions of the two different technologies are often seen as interchangeable.

Water filters and softeners do, in fact, serve very different purposes. The main goal of a water filter is to provide clean, contaminant-free water for drinking and other purposes. The main goal of a water softener is to remove “hardening” minerals like calcium and magnesium from the water. Water softeners do not remove dangerous chemicals or bacteria. Read more