Is the water cycle fast?
But water is also an integral part of the climate system, contributing to the delicate balance of energy and mass that regulates the temperature of our planet. Even so, water cycles through the tropical atmosphere about twice as fast as it does through the mid and high latitudes.
At which stage does the water cycle starts again?
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.
What happens to water in the water cycle?
As it moves through this cycle, it changes forms. Water is the only substance that naturally exists in three states on Earth – solid, liquid, and gas. Over 96% of total global water is in the ocean, so let’s start there. Energy from the sun causes water on the surface to evaporate into water vapor – a gas.
How does the hydrologic cycle begin and end?
The hydrologic cycle begins as water on the Earth’s surface evaporates from a liquid state to a gaseous one under high heat. This evaporated moisture rises into the atmosphere, where it condenses on small particles, forming clouds and fog.
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.
How does groundwater move in the water cycle?
Groundwater flows underground Some of the precipitation that falls onto the land infiltrates into the ground to become groundwater. If the water meets the water table (below which the soil is saturated), it can move both vertically and horizontally.