The water cycle, technically
known as the hydrologic cycle, is the continuous circulation
of water within the Earth's hydrosphere, and is driven by
solar radiation.
This includes the atmosphere,
land, surface water and groundwater. As water moves through
the cycle, it changes state between liquid, solid, and gas
phases.
Water moves from compartment to
compartment, such as from river to ocean, by the physical
processes of evaporation, precipitation, infiltration,
runoff, and subsurface flow. Movement of water within the
water cycle is the subject of the field of hydrology.
The water cycle is the process
that all water takes.
The cycle includes:
- precipitation:
the falling of water in any form to Earth
- infiltration:
the process in which water is absorbed into the soil
- evaporation:
when water is heated and turns into water vapor
- evapotranspiration:
when plants use the
water and give it off as water vapor, condensation which
is when the water vapor cools and forms clouds.
This process is then repeated over and over again.
More to come, in
future articles.
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