University:
Jackson College
Course:
GEL-109 | Earth Science
Academic year:

2022
Views:

207

Pages:

2
Author:

customer-8220750

NOTES: The Water Cycle Infiltration Water on the ground soaks into the soil Percolation NOTES: The Water Cycle • A diagram that shows how water changes form and moves through different processes on Earth, including: o precipitation- forms of water that fall to Earth's surface from the atmosphere (rain, snow, sleet, hail) o runoff- precipitation that flows across the surface instead of sinking into the ground o evaporation- liquid water becomes water vapor (which is an invisible gas) o condensation- water vapor becomes liquid water; clouds may form (clouds, including fog, are water droplets) o transpiration- the release of water vapor from plants o infiltration- water sinking into the ground at the surface (opposite of runoff) o percolation- water sinking deeper down through the soil profile (until it reaches the water table) • Almost all of Earth's water, and therefore the water cycle, occurs in the troposphere. o Be able to label all the layers of the atmosphere. • Earth's water is finite, which means there's a limited supply. This makes it easy to get polluted by o human activities, such as waste disposal o erosion, which carries sediment and other pollutants into rivers and estuaries ! too much sediment flowing into the Chesapeake Bay, for example, actually blocks sunlight and prevents seagrass from growing well; seagrass is like a nursery for crabs and other critters • Fresh water is both on Earth's surface and underground o on the surface in rivers, lakes, springs o underground in soil and rock ! flowing as groundwater- water found beneath Earth's surface in soil and rocks ! stored in an aquifer- rock that contains water • People need unpolluted fresh water for many uses, including o irrigation (watering crops for food) o drinking water o industry