Each of you has a diagram of the water cycle. Write the correct name for the part of the water cycle within your diagram. Fill in the definitions on your Guided Notes Set

 The sun’s energy moves water through the water cycle.  Think of the sun as the engine which drives this cycle.

 Condensation is the process by which water vapor in the air is changed into liquid water.  Condensation is crucial to the water cycle because it is responsible for the formation of clouds.  Clouds will eventually cause precipitation, which is the way that water returns back to the surface.

 Evapotranspiration represents the water that moves into the atmosphere from three places 1. From the ground surface 2. Evaporation from the edge of the groundwater table. 3. From the transpiration of plants whose roots take water from the groundwater.

 Some precipitation seeps into the ground and becomes ground water.  It begins to travel underground, it can meet up with a stream or exit the ground in some other way

 Water that falls as rain and snow will sink into or “infiltrate” the soil and rock below the surface of the ground.  Think of this as the water which “soaks in” after a storm

 In the colder parts of the world, much of the movement of water in the springtime is due to melting snow and ice.  This snow will sit until spring time, when it melts and releases water into rivers.  As much as 75 percent of water supplies in the western states are derived from snowmelt.

 Precipitation either enters the ground or runs downhill.  Most runoff ends up in creeks, streams, and rivers, flowing downhill towards the oceans.  These usually will deposit this water into the oceans.

 Most water in rivers comes directly from runoff from the land surface, which is defined as surface runoff.  Precipitation that falls on the land, flows overland as runoff, and then runs into rivers, which then empty into the oceans.

 What is water storage? ◦ This is water that is locked up in its present state for a relatively long period of time.  The amount of water being stored as snow and ice accounts for a large amount of all water at any given time.  This water can be stored for thousands of years, such as the water at the bottom of a glacier

 As you know, evaporation is the process by which water changes from liquid phase to gas phase.  Evaporation is the main way that water moves between liquid phase back to atmospheric water vapor. sun  This is powered by the sun.  According to research, the oceans, seas, lakes, and rivers provide nearly 90 percent of the moisture in the atmosphere via evaporation.

 For us, the most important part of the water cycle is the freshwater existing on the land surface.  Surface water includes the streams, ponds, lakes, reservoirs, and freshwater wetlands.  Water enters freshwater storage from precipitation, surface runoff, and groundwater seepage.

 Large amounts of water are stored in the ground.  This water enters groundwater by infiltration.  Below the top area of soil a saturated zone, where all of the pores, cracks, and spaces between rock particles are saturated with water. The term ground water is used to describe this area.  The top of this zone is called the “water table.”

 The drops which form clouds are far too small to fall as precipitation, but they are large enough to form visible clouds.  For precipitation to happen, tiny droplets clump into larger drop which fall out of the cloud as precipitation.  Depending on the conditions, ice crystals may fall as snow, or water may fall as rain

 A spring is formed when groundwater is exposed to the surface, and emerges from the ground.  They range in size from intermittent seeps, which flow only after much rain, to huge pools flowing hundreds of millions of gallons daily.

The Comal Springs are the largest in Texas. There are seven large springs within Landa Park.

 Sublimation is how solid water goes directly into the gas phase, without changing to a liquid first.  Within the water cycle, this is where snow and ice change into water vapor in the air without first melting into water.  This can be seen as fog forming over ice and snow.

 The atmosphere is the main way that water moves around the globe.  Clouds are moved by winds throughout the world.  90% of water in the atmosphere is produced by evaporation from water bodies  10% comes from transpiration from plants.  Clouds are the easiest way to see the water in the atmosphere, but all air contains water.

 The largest storage of water on Earth is in the oceans.  At any given time, about 96.5% of the water on Earth is stored in the oceans. Also, about 90% of evaporation occurs from the surface of the ocean.  The water in the oceans is saltwater, which means that it contains dissolved salts.

U.S. Geological Survey. “The Water Cycle." (2011) Retrieved from