2. What is it?
Water cycle also known as Hydrological cycle or Hydrolic
cycle is the continuous movement of water on above or
below the surface of land.
Water never leaves the Earth. It is constantly being cycled
through the atmosphere, ocean, and land. This process,
known as the Water Cycle, is driven by energy from the sun.
The hydrologic cycle has a profound effect upon climate
prediction.
Branch of science to study the movements and
characteristics of water under of over surface or earth is
called Hydrology.
5. Evaporation occurs
when water changes
from liquid state to
gaseous state.
Evaporation occurs on
water surfaces like
lakes, seas etc.
Evaporated moisture is
lifted into atmosphere.
6. Evapo-transpiration is water
evaporating from the ground and
transpiration by plants.
Evapo-transpiration is also the way
water vapour-enters the
atmosphere
About 90% of atmospheric water
comes from evaporation, while the
remaining 10% is from
transpiration.
Water is evaporated from lakes,
streams, oceans, and plants.
8. Condensation is the process by
which water vapor changes into
water. Water vapor condenses to
form dew, fog or clouds.
Condensation takes place due to
cooling of air. As water (in the
form of gas) rises higher in the
atmosphere, it starts to cool and
become a liquid again. When a
large amount of water vapor
condenses, it results in the
formation of clouds.
9. Condensation can form: Fog,Dew, and Clouds
Fog: Fog forms when air near the surface is cold and nearly
saturated with water. Now when water from the ground
evaporates, it condenses immediately forming tiny water
droplets that create a low-lying cloud we call fog.
Dew: Dew forms at night when air becomes saturated with
water vapor. When this saturated air comes in contact with
plants or other objects it condenses, leaving tiny water
droplets behind on the object.
Clouds:When the air containing water vapor is heated by the
sun, it rises into the atmosphere by convection. The water
vapor in the air is then cooled by the colder air higher in the
atmosphere causing the relative humidity to increase. As the
relative humidity increases, the air eventually becomes
saturated. The water vapor then condenses into tiny water
droplets around particles of dust or salt in the air. These tiny
water droplets make up clouds.
10. Transpiration occurs when plants take
in water through the roots and release
it through the leaves, a process that
can clean water by removing
contaminants and pollution.
Transpiration is the biological process
that occurs mostly in the day.
Water inside plants is transferred to
the atmosphere as water vapor.
Only a small portion of water is
retained by the
plants.
11. When the water in the clouds gets too heavy, the water
falls back to the earth.
This is called precipitation.
Precipitation is the process that occurs when water
particles fall from the atmosphere and reach the
ground.
Precipitated water may fall into water bodies or on
land.
It can then go to streams or penetrate into the soil.
14. INFILTRATION
Some precipitation seeps into the
groundwater and is stored in layers
of rock below the surface of the
Earth.
This water stays there for varying
amounts of time. Some water may
evaporate into the hydrologic cycle
within days, while other water will
stay in the ground for centuries or
more.
This process of precipitation seeping
into the groundwater is called
infiltration.
It is measured in inches per hour or
millimeters per hour.
It is measured using infiltrometer.
15. RUN-OFF
Runoff is precipitation that did not get
absorbed into the soil, or did not evaporate.
Runoff causes erosion, and also carry
chemicals and substances on the ground
surface.
16. There are three basic water
storage places: in
atmosphere, on earth’s
surface, and in the ground.
Surface storage places are:
ocean, lake, reservoirs,
glaciers.
Underground storage occurs
in soil, in the cracks of rocks
etc.
