Download Water Cycle NOTES

The Water Cycle
http://data.piercecollege.edu/weather/flash/hydrocycle.swf
http://www.epa.gov/safewater/kids/flash/flash_watercycle.html
The Sun drives the
water cycle
Evaporation
• Water is transferred from the
surface to the atmosphere
through evaporation, water
changes from a liquid to a gas
Condensation
• change of water from its gaseous form (water
vapor) into liquid water
• generally occurs in the atmosphere when warm
air rises, cools and looses its capacity to hold
water vapor
• the result, excess water vapor condenses to
form cloud droplets.
• upward motions that generate clouds can be
produced by convection in unstable air,
convergence associated with cyclones, lifting of
air by fronts and lifting over elevated topography
such as mountains.
Precipitation
 the primary mechanism for transporting water
from the atmosphere to the surface of the earth
 there are several forms of precipitation, most
common for the U.S. is rain
 Other forms of precipitation include; hail, snow,
sleet, and freezing rain (surface temps are just below freezing)
 Precipitation can become runoff (go into the
watershed), evaporate, or become groundwater
sleet
http://www.erh.noaa.gov/rnk/Newsletter/Winter%20200405/P-Type_files/image005.gif
http://profhorn.meteor.wisc.edu/wxwis
e/precip/precip.html
http://www.classzone.com/books/earth_science
/terc/content/visualizations/es1805/es1805page
01.cfm?chapter_no=visualization
Know these words also
transpiration, infiltration, and
runoff