explain water cycle?
Answers
Answer: The water cycle , also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water as it makes a circuit from the oceans to the atmosphere to the Earth and on again. Most of Earth's water is in the oceans. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans.
Explanation:
The water cycle is the path that all water follows as it moves around Earth in different states. Liquid water is found in oceans, rivers, lakes—and even underground. Solid ice is found in glaciers, snow, and at the North and South Poles. Water vapor—a gas—is found in Earth’s atmosphere.
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. Solid ice is found in glaciers, snow, and at the North and South Poles. Water vapor—a gas—is found in Earth’s atmosphere.
How does water travel from a glacier to the ocean to a cloud? That’s where the water cycle comes in.
The Sun’s heat causes glaciers and snow to melt into liquid water. This water goes into oceans, lakes and streams. Water from melting snow and ice also goes into the soil. There, it supplies water for plants and the groundwater that we drink.
Snow falling on a glacier during winter months usually replaces any water that melts away in the summer. However, due to Earth’s overall warming, most glaciers today are losing more ice than they regain, causing them to shrink over time.
How does water get into the atmosphere? There are two main ways this happens:
Heat from the Sun causes water to evaporate from oceans, lakes and streams. Evaporation occurs when liquid water on Earth’s surface turns into water vapor in our atmosphere.
Water from plants and trees also enters the atmosphere. This is called transpiration.
Warm water vapor rises up through Earth’s atmosphere. As the water vapor rises higher and higher, the cool air of the atmosphere causes the water vapor to turn back into liquid water, creating clouds. This process is called condensation.
When a cloud becomes full of liquid water, it falls from the sky as rain or snow—also known as precipitation. Rain and snow then fill lakes and streams, and the process starts all over again.