What is the water cycle dependent on?
The water cycle is driven by the Sun’s energy. The sun warms the ocean surface and other surface water, causing liquid water to evaporate and ice to sublime—turn directly from a solid to a gas. These sun-driven processes move water into the atmosphere in the form of water vapor.
Is the water cycle a matter cycle?
The water cycle is the path that all water follows as it moves around our planet. On Earth, you can find water in all three states of matter: solid, liquid and gas. Liquid water is found in Earth’s oceans, rivers, lakes, streams—and even in the soil and underground. That’s where the water cycle comes in.
What happens to water in the water cycle?
Currents high up in the air move these clouds around the globe. The water cycle is also known as the “ hydrologic cycle “. When too much water has condensed, the water droplets in the clouds become too big and heavy for the air to hold them. And so they fall back down to Earth as rain, snow, hail or sleet, a process known as “ precipitation “.
Which is the starting point of the water cycle?
The water cycle has no starting point. But, we’ll begin in the oceans, since that is where most of Earth’s water exists. 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.
What is the residence time of the water cycle?
The residence time for groundwater is two weeks to 10,000 years. The residence time for oceans and seas is 4,000 years. The residence time for lakes and reservoirs is 10 years. The residence time for swamps is one to 10 years. The residence time for soil moisture is two weeks to one year. The residence time for rivers is two weeks.
How is precipitation collected in the water cycle?
And so they fall back down to Earth as rain, snow, hail or sleet, a process known as “ precipitation “. The fallen precipitation is then “collected” in bodies of water – such as rivers, lakes and oceans – from where it will eventually evaporate back into the air, beginning the cycle all over again.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFgnymK7pJA