Hydrologic cycle

The Earth's water is always in movement, and the water

cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes
the continuous movement of water on, above, and below
the surface of the Earth. Since the water cycle is truly a
"cycle," there is no beginning or end. Water can change
states among liquid, vapor, and ice at various places in
the water cycle, with these processes happening in the
blink of an eye and over millions of years. Although the
balance of water on Earth remains fairly constant over
time, individual water molecules can come and go in a
hurry, but there is always the same amount of water on
the surface of the earth.

Water Cycle

Description
The water cycle has no starting or ending point. The sun,
which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans.
Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air. Ice and snow
can sublimate directly into water vapor. Rising air
currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along
with water from evapotranspiration, which is water
transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The
vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause
it to condense into clouds. Air currents move clouds
around the globe, cloud particles collide, grow, and fall
out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as
snow and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers,
which can store frozen water for thousands of years.

Snowpacks in warmer climates often thaw and melt when

spring arrives, and the melted water flows overland as
snowmelt. Most precipitation falls back into the oceans or
onto land, where, due to gravity, the precipitation flows over
the ground as surface runoff. A portion of runoff enters
rivers in valleys in the landscape, with streamflow moving
water towards the oceans. Runoff, and ground-water
seepage, accumulate and are stored as freshwater in lakes.
Not all runoff flows into rivers. Much of it soaks into the
ground as infiltration. Some water infiltrates deep into the
ground and replenishes aquifers (saturated subsurface
rock), which store huge amounts of freshwater for long
periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the land
surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and
the ocean) as ground-water discharge, and some ground
water finds openings in the land surface and emerges as
freshwater springs. Over time, the water continues flowing,
some to reenter the ocean, where the water cycle renews
itself.

Processes in water cycle

Precipitation is condensed water vapor that falls to the
Earth's surface. Most precipitation occurs as rain, but also
includes snow, hail, fog drip, graupel, and sleet
.Approximately 505,000 km of water fall as precipitation
each year, 398,000 km of it over the oceans.
Canopy interception is the precipitation that is intercepted
by plant foliage and eventually evaporates back to the
atmosphere rather than falling to the ground.
Snowmelt refers to the runoff produced by melting snow.
Runoff includes the variety of ways by which water moves
across the land. This includes both surface runoff and
channel runoff. As it flows, the water may infiltrate into the
ground, evaporate into the air, become stored in lakes or
reservoirs, or be extracted for agricultural or other human
us

 Infiltration is the flow of water from the ground

surface into the ground. Once infiltrated, the
water becomes soil moisture or groundwater.[3]
Subsurface Flow is the flow of water
underground, in the vadose zone and aquifers.
Subsurface water may return to the surface (eg.
as a spring or by being pumped) or eventually
seep into the oceans. Water returns to the land
surface at lower elevation than where it
infiltrated, under the force of gravity or gravity
induced pressures. Groundwater tends to move
slowly, and is replenished slowly, so it can
remain in aquifers for thousands of years.

 Evaporation is the transformation of water from liquid to

gas phases as it moves from the ground or bodies of
water into the overlying atmosphere. The source of
energy for evaporation is primarily solar radiation.
Evaporation often implicitly includes transpiration from
plants, though together they are specifically referred to
as evapotranspiration. Total annual evapotranspiration
amounts to approximately 505,000 km of water, 434,000
km of which evaporates from the oceans.
Sublimation is the state change directly from solid water
(snow or ice) to water vapor.
Advection is the movement of water in solid, liquid,
or vapour states through the atmosphere. Without
advection, water that evaporated over the oceans could
not precipitate over land.
Condensation is the transformation of water vapour to
liquid water droplets in the air, producing clouds and fog.

Reservoirs
In the context of the water cycle, a reservoir
represents the water contained in different steps
within the cycle. The largest reservoir is the
collection of oceans, accounting for 97% of the
Earth's water. The next largest quantity (2%) is
stored in solid form in the ice caps and glaciers.
This small amount accounts for approximately
75% of all fresh water reserves on the planet.
The water contained within all living organisms
represents the smallest reservoir.
The volume of water in the fresh water
reservoirs, particularly those that are available
for human use, are important water resources.

Volume of water stored in

the water cycle's reservoirs
Reservoir

Volume of water
(106 km)

Percent
of total

1370

97.25

Ice caps & glaciers

29

2.05

Groundwater

9.5

0.68

Lakes

0.125

0.01

Soil moisture

0.065

0.005

Atmosphere

0.013

0.001

Streams & rivers

0.0017

0.0001

Biosphere

0.0006

0.00004

Oceans

Effects on climate
The water cycle is powered from solar
energy. 86% of the global evaporation
occurs from the oceans, reducing their
temperature
by
evaporative cooling.
Without the cooling effect of evaporation
the greenhouse effect would lead to a
much higher surface temperature of 67 C
, and a warmer planet.

Effects on biogeochemical cycling

While the water cycle is itself a biogeochemical cycle, flow of
water over and beneath the Earth is a key component of the
cycling of other biogeochemicals. Runoff is responsible for
almost all of the transport of eroded sediment and
phosphorus from land to waterbodies. The salinity of the
oceans is derived from erosion and transport of dissolved
salts from the land. Cultural eutrophication of lakes is
primarily due to phosphorus, applied in excess to
agricultural fields in fertilizers, and then transported
overland and down rivers. Both runoff and groundwater flow
play significant roles in transporting nitrogen from the land
to waterbodies. The dead zone at the outlet of the
Mississippi River is a consequence of nitrates from fertilizer
being carried off agricultural fields and funnelled down the
river system to the Gulf of Mexico. Runoff also plays a part
in the carbon cycle, again through the transport of eroded
rock and soil.