Download Water cycle and precipitation - LaPazColegioWiki2012-2013

Water cycle and
precipitation
Evaporation/Transpiration
· Water enters the atmosphere as water vapor through
evaporation and transpiration, plants releasing water vapor.
Humidity- the amount of water vapor in the air
Relative humidity- compares the amount of water in the air
with the maximum amount of water vapor that can be
present at that temperature
· Condensation happens in the
atmosphere as water vapor
changes to water droplets.
· Clouds form as a result of
condensation.
· Dew forms when water vapor condenses directly onto
a surface;
· Frost forms when water vapor changes from gas
directly to ice crystals on a surface when the
temperature at which condensing would take place is at
the freezing point or below.
Run-off
· If precipitation falls on land surfaces, it always
attempts to move back toward sea level as surfacewater flow or groundwater flow.
· The surface that receives the precipitation
determines its flow back towards sea level.
Examples are:
· Water will remain on the surface when the
surface is not porous or the precipitation is
falling too fast for the water to sink into the
ground.
· Water will sink into the ground when the
surface is porous and there is lots of space
in the soil to hold the water.
_____________
· After condensation occurs (forming
clouds), water droplets fall in various forms
of precipitation
Exe: rain, snow, freezing rain, sleet, or hail,
depending upon weather conditions.
· Temperature variations within clouds
and/or within the region between the cloud
and Earth allows for the various forms of
precipitation.
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• ________- most common
type of precipitation.
• tiny cloud droplets
collide to form bigger
droplets.
• Droplet becomes too
______ for the air to
support it.
• Air is warm enough on
the way down and on
the surface for drops to
remain liquid
• Freezing Rain- raindrops freeze
as they hit the ground or other
surface.
• Occurs when there is a layer
of ___________ (warmer) air
on top of a shallow layer of
_________________
• When it hits the sub-freezing
layer it will _________ but
not freeze.
• Drops fall as liquid until they
hit the cold air and freeze
into ice as they land on a
surface
• Since the surface
temperature is below
freezing, objects in constant
contact with the air
_______________
• Rain freezes when it comes
into contact with these
surfaces (exe: the ground)
• Major cause of “black ice”
on highways during winter
• Sleet- raindrops that freeze
______ they hit the ground.
• Warm layer of air on top of a
deep sub-freezing layer of air
at the surface
• The above-freezing (warm)
layer allows __________
• However, as the drops hit the
cold layer, they will freeze
and hit the ground as frozen
water droplets.
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• Hail-Solid ice precipitation
that occurs during intense
thunderstorms
• Different from sleet
• Cumulonimbus clouds can
get super tall to reach parts
of the atmosphere that are
_________
• Drops of water rise up due
to ______________
• They collide and grow larger
• When they get high enough
they _________
• Once the hailstone freezes,
• When it grows too large for
the updrafts to keep it
suspended, it falls to the
ground
• The stronger the updrafts,
the ______ the hailstones
• Can range from pea-sized
to softball-sized!
• Snow- precipitation that is
frozen
•
Occurs when the layer of
the atmosphere from the
cloud all the way to Earth’s
surface is entirely below
freezing.
• The precipitation falls from
the cloud as snow and does
not melt at all while falling to
the ground.
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