Hydrology - the study of the movement, distribution, and quality of water on Earth and other planets,

including the hydrologic cycle,water resources and environmental watershed sustainability

Distribution
Movement
Circulation
Property (quality)
i.
Chemical
ii.
Physical
e.) Occurrence
a.)
b.)
c.)
d.)

Hydrologic (water) cycle the continuous movement of water between the earth
and the atmostphere

The hydrologic cycle begins with the evaporation of water from the
surface of the ocean. As moist air is lifted, it cools and water vapour
condenses to form clouds. Moisture is transported around the globe until it
returns to the surface as precipitation. Once the water reaches the
ground, one of two processes may occur; 1) some of the water may
evaporate back into the atmosphere or 2) the water may penetrate the
surface and become groundwater. Groundwater either seeps its way to
into the oceans, rivers, and streams, or is released back into the
atmosphere through transpiration. The balance of water that remains on
the earth's surface is runof, which empties into lakes, rivers and streams
and is carried back to the oceans, where the cycle begins again.

This Hydrologic Cycle recycles the earth's valuable water supply. The sun
is the energy that powers this remarkable process. It's energy in the form
of light, and heat causes water to EVAPORATE from oceans, rivers, lakes
and even puddles. "Evaporate" means it turns the water from a liquid to a
gas, or "vapor." Warm air currents rising from the earth's surface lift this
water vapor up into the atmosphere.
When the air currents reach the cooler layers of the atmosphere, the
water vapor condenses around and clings on to fine particles in the air.
This step is called CONDENSATION. When enough vapor attaches itself to
tiny pieces of dust, pollen or pollutants, it forms a cloud. Clouds do not
last forever. Old clouds constantly re-evaporate and new ones form,
creating ever-changing patterns in the sky.
As the air gets more and more moist, the droplets that form the clouds
grow larger and larger. Eventually they will get so big that the swirling
atmospheric winds can no longer hold them up. The droplets then fall from
the sky as PRECIPITATION. Precipitation can be in the form of rain, snow,
sleet or hail depending on other atmospheric conditions such as
temperature.
Once the precipitation reaches the ground, several things can happen to
it. First, it might be re-evaporated. For instance, we've all seen the mist
rising of hot roads after a summer shower. If it isn't re-evaporated, much
of the water will become RUN -OFF that goes into streams and rivers as it
flows back to the ocean.
Some of the precipitation will be absorbed into the ground. This is called
INFILTRATION. Once in the ground, the water can join the earth's GROUND
WATER supply. This is one of the world's largest storehouses of water. The
water could also be absorbed from the ground by the roots of plants.
Another form of evaporation that contributes to the water cycle is
TRANSPIRATION. Here, water given of through the pores of plants and
animals joins the atmosphere as a vapor. Check, for instance, your own
breath on a cold day. What you are seeing is water vapor being given of
by your body.

Albedo the fraction of solar energy (shortwave radiation) reflected from

the Earth back into space
-

A measure of the reflectivity of the earths surface

Earths Energy Budget:

The Greenhouse Effect

- Caused by an increase in the greenhouse efect
Greenhouse gases
are gases in an atmosphere that absorb and emit radiation within
the thermal infrared range

Coriolis effect a deflection of moving objects when they are viewed in

a rotating reference frame

2 factors affecting rainfall:

1. Monsoon
a.) South West - from June to October
b.) North East from November to April
2. Mountain Range