define water cycle explain the process of water cycle
Answers
Answer:
The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the hydrological cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. The mass of water on Earth remains fairly constant over time but the partitioning of the water into the major reservoirs of ice, fresh water, saline water and atmospheric water is variable depending on a wide range of climatic variables. The water moves from one reservoir to another, such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean to the atmosphere, by the physical processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, surface runoff, and subsurface flow. In doing so, the water goes through different forms: liquid, solid (ice) and vapor.
The Water Cycle :
Water evaporates from the oceans as invisible water vapor, leaving behind the salt. The water vapor rises into the atmosphere, which is normally cooler than the sea. Here, it condenses into tiny droplets, which we can see as clouds. When the clouds get cooler still, either by rising higher or by crossing land where they are forced upwards to go over hills and mountains, the tiny droplets join together to form raindrops, which fall to earth. In very cold areas, they freeze on the way downwards and become snow or hail.
The rain, when it falls, does not, of course, remain on the ground. 75 percent of it goes back to the ocean by running into rivers, or soaking into the ground (for storage or discharge) and so back to the sea. Some of the rain 5 soaks into the soil where the roots of plants 'suck' it up to provide minerals for the leaves and branches.
Plants 'breathe' out water vapor from tiny holes in their leaves (transpiration). One hectare of growing maize transpires about 37,000 liters of water a day.