Water Cycle

WATER CYCLE
Environmental Science
What is a Water Cycle?
The water cycle describes how water is exchanged
(cycled) through Earth's land, ocean, and atmosphere.
Water always exists in all three places, and in many
forms—as lakes and rivers, glaciers and ice sheets,
oceans and seas, underground aquifers, and vapor in the
air and clouds.
The water cycle consists of three major
processes: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.
Evaporation
Evaporation is the process of a liquid's surface changing to a gas. In the
water cycle, liquid water (in the ocean, lakes, or rivers) evaporates and
becomes water vapor.
Water vapor surrounds us, as an important part of the air we breathe.
Water vapor is also an important greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases such as
water vapor and carbon dioxide insulate the Earth and keep the planet warm
enough to maintain life as we know it.
The water cycle's evaporation process is driven by the sun. As the sun
interacts with liquid water on the surface of the ocean, the water becomes an
invisible gas (water vapor). Evaporation is also influenced
by wind, temperature, and the density of the body of water.
Condensation
Condensation is the process of a gas changing to a liquid. In the water
cycle, water vapor in the atmosphere condenses and becomes liquid.
Condensation can happen high in the atmosphere or at ground
level. Clouds form as water vapor condenses, or becomes more concentrated
(dense). Water vapor condenses around tiny particles
called cloud condensation nuclei (CCN). CCN can be specks of dust, salt,
or pollutants. Clouds at ground level are called fog or mist.
Like evaporation, condensation is also influenced by the sun. As water
vapor cools, it reaches its saturation limit, or dew point. Air pressure is also an
important influence on the dew point of an area.
Precipitation
As was the case with evaporation and condensation, precipitation is
also a process. Precipitation describes any liquid or solid water that falls to
Earth as a result of condensation in the atmosphere. Precipitation includes
rain, snow, and hail.
Fog is not precipitation. The water in fog does not condense sufficiently
to precipitate, or liquefy and fall to Earth. Fog and mist are a part of the water
cycle called suspensions: They are liquid water suspended in the atmosphere.
Precipitation is one of many ways water is cycled from the atmosphere
to the Earth or ocean.
Other Processes
Evaporation, condensation, and precipitation are important parts of
the water cycle. However, they are not the only ones.
Runoff, for instance, describes a variety of ways liquid water moves
across land. Snowmelt, for example, is an important type of runoff
produced as snow or glaciers melt and form streams or pools.
Transpiration is another important part of the water cycle.
Transpiration is the process of water vapor being released from plants and
soil. Plants release water vapor through microscopic pores called stomata.
The opening of stomata is strongly influenced by light, and so is often
associated with the sun and the process of
evaporation. Evapotranspiration is the combined components of
evaporation and transpiration, and is sometimes used to evaluate the
movement of water in the atmosphere
States of Water
Through the water cycle, water continually circulates through
three states: solid, liquid, and vapor.
Ice is solid water. Most of Earth's freshwater is ice, locked in
massive glaciers, ice sheets, and ice caps.
As ice melts, it turns to liquid. The ocean, lakes, rivers, and
underground aquifers all hold liquid water.
Water vapor is an invisible gas. Water vapor is not evenly
distributed across the atmosphere. Above the ocean, water vapor
is much more abundant, making up as much as four percent of the
air. Above isolated deserts, it can be less than one percent.
The Water Cycle and Climate
The water cycle has a dramatic influence on Earth's climate and ecosystems.
Climate is all the weather conditions of an area, evaluated over a period of
time. Two weather conditions that contribute to climate include humidity and
temperature. These weather conditions are influenced by the water cycle.
Humidity is simply the amount of water vapor in the air. As water vapor is
not evenly distributed by the water cycle, some regions experience higher humidity
than others. This contributes to radically different climates. Islands or coastal
regions, where water vapor makes up more of the atmosphere, are usually much
more humid than inland regions, where water vapor is scarcer.
A region's temperature also relies on the water cycle. Through the water
cycle, heat is exchanged and temperatures fluctuate. As water evaporates, for
example, it absorbs energy and cools the local environment. As water condenses, it
releases energy and warms the local environment.
The Water Cycle and the Landscape
The water cycle also influences the physical geography of the
Earth. Glacial melt and erosion caused by water are two of the ways
the water cycle helps create Earth's physical features.
As glaciers slowly expand across a landscape, they can carve
away entire valleys, create mountain peaks, and leave behind rubble
as big as boulders. Yosemite Valley, part of Yosemite National Park in
the U.S. state of California, is a glacial valley. The famous
Matterhorn, a peak on the Alps between Switzerland and Italy, was
carved as glaciers collided and squeezed up the earth between
them. Canada's "Big Rock" is one of the world's largest "glacial
erratics," boulders left behind as a glacier advances or retreats.
The Water Cycle and the Landscape (2)
Glacial melt can also create landforms. The Great Lakes, for example,
are part of the landscape of the Midwest of the United States and Canada.
The Great Lakes were created as an enormous ice sheet melted and
retreated, leaving liquid pools.
The process of erosion and the movement of runoff also create
varied landscapes across the Earth's surface. Erosion is the process by which
earth is worn away by liquid water, wind, or ice.
Erosion can include the movement of runoff. The flow of water can help
carve enormous canyons, for example. These canyons can be carved by rivers
on high plateaus (such as the Grand Canyon, on the Colorado Plateau in the
U.S. state of Arizona). They can also be carved by currents deep in the ocean
(such as the Monterey Canyon, in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of the U.S.
state of California).

Water Cycle

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WATER CYCLE

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