Science Buddies: "Ask an Expert"

My question concerns how dependant the life on earth is on the amount of water in the atmosphere at any time. Doctor Google says that there is 37.5~ million billion gallons of water in the sky at almost all times. What would happen if there was 20% more of that figure? Or maybe 50%? Even 100% percent? Would this cause catasprophy like i would initally assume? Or could the effects of this have some underlying benefits to it? Also how would the answer change if the ice caps were melted? Keeping more water above the ground surface of the earth? Thank you for taking the time to read and answer.

-Chase

Hi Chase,

There are many different factors to look into to find answers to your questions.

The US Geological Survey is a good place to start researching about the atmosphere and water.
https://www.usgs.gov/science-explorer-r ... atmosphere

NASA researched how water vapor and climate change
https://www.nasa.gov/topics/earth/featu ... rming.html
https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/globa ... 2_M_SKY_WV

This can be a good start.
Mrsdez