The Water Cycle

The energy from sun drives the water cycle which in turn drives the weather. The energy from sun drives the water cycle which in turn drives the weather. Weather is affected by the amount of water vapor in the air. Weather is affected by the amount of water vapor in the air.

Water never leaves the Earth. It is constantly being cycled through the atmosphere, ocean, and land. This process, known as the water cycle, describes the movement of water above, on and below the Earth’s surface. The water cycle is crucial to the existence of life on our planet.

The sun heats up liquid water and changes it to a gas (water vapor) by the process of evaporation. Water that evaporates from Earth’s oceans, lakes, rivers, and moist soil rises up into the atmosphere. Evaporation

Evaporation

The process of evaporation from plants is called transpiration. (In other words, it’s like plants sweating.)

Humidity – is the amount of water vapor in the air. RELATIVE HUMIDITY-Amount of water vapor in the air compared to the maximum it can hold The warmer the air, the more water vapor it can hold.

When a large amount of water vapor condenses, it results in the formation of clouds. As water vapor rises higher in the atmosphere, it starts to cool to it’s dew point and become a liquid again. This process is called condensation.

When the water in the clouds gets too saturated,the water falls back to the earth’s surface. This is called Precipitation. Rain SleetSnow Hail

When rain falls on the land, some of the water is absorbed into the ground through the process of Percolation. This water can either be : Be used absorbed by plant roots Stored in aquifers as Ground Water

RUNOFF – Water that flows across the land and collects into streams, rivers and eventually oceans. Water that collects in rivers, streams, and oceans