The resulting curricula often develop into interdisciplinary investigations. For example, rivers form a connection for relating chemistry to biology, and for relating the physical sciences to the social sciences and humanities. In the natural sciences, physics explains the structure of water, the electromagnetic configuration and molecular bonding that lead to its unique physical and chemical properties, and fluid dynamics. Chemistry helps us understand the integral role of water in all life processes and the means for analyzing the presence of other compounds in water. Biology is based on an understanding water, and many ecological processes are water related.
Water distribution is a major component of geological science.
History shows that civilizations grow and collapse based on the availability of water. Economics is based on access to water. Manufacturing and agriculture are water dependent, and politics are often used to legislate water resource availability. Natural resource management strategies for water, such as dams, have a significant influence on energy, transportation, recreation, and commercial interests as well as riverine ecology. Water can be considered a continuous web that unites the entire earth, thus, an understanding of its role can lead to a better understanding of interrelationships on Earth, an earth-systems approach that enhances the development of scientifically and environmentally literate students who are capable of understanding and addressing specific issues that are of their concern.