Water is the most essential element to life on Earth, but our planet has a complex water

system that requires many years of study and dedication to fully understand. That is why
we are fortunate enough to have lots of skilled hydrologists in this world who help us solve
water problems and provide extremely valuable information to other important fields, such
as civil engineering.

The water, or hydrologic, cycle describes the pilgrimage of water as water molecules make their
way from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back again, in some cases to below the
surface. This gigantic system, powered by energy from the Sun, is a continuous exchange of
moisture between the oceans, the atmosphere, and the land

Studies have revealed that evaporation—the process by which water changes from a liquid to a
gas—from oceans, seas, and other bodies of water (lakes, rivers, streams) provides nearly 90%
of the moisture in our atmosphere. Most of the remaining 10% found in the atmosphere is
released by plants through transpiration. Plants take in water through their roots, then release it
through small pores on the underside of their leaves. In addition, a very small portion of water
vapor enters the atmosphere through sublimation, the process by which water changes directly
from a solid (ice or snow) to a gas. The gradual shrinking of snow banks in cases when
the temperature remains below freezing results from sublimation
Water in its liquid state forms weak bonds with other atoms. With enough
energy from the sun, it breaks these loose bonds. It isolates an individual
molecule that flies off the surface and evaporates into the air

 OCEAN PRECIPITATION: 90% of water falls back into the oceans.

 LAND PRECIPITATION: From the 10% that falls on land, the majority of
water returns back into the atmosphere as evaporation. But some water
flows on the surface into the a watershed or basin as runoff

 A catchment is an area of land, usually surrounded by mountains or

hills, over which water flows and is collected.
 Within a catchment, water runs by gravity to the lowest point. The water
is called surface runoff if it stays on the top of the land
or groundwater flow if it soaks into the ground. When water reaches the
lowest point in a catchment, it eventually flows into a creek, river, lake,
lagoon, wetland or the ocean.
 Within catchments, dams have been built on rivers to store water and
this gives us a more permanent water supply. The rivers leading into the
dams form a drinking water supply catchment, which can be different to
the river's total catchment.
 The water cycle is also known scientifically as the hydrologic cycle and
refers to the continuous exchange of water within the hydrosphere,
between the atmosphere, soil water, surface water, groundwater, and
plants.
 A catchment area is a hydrological unit. Each drop of precipitation that falls into a
catchment area eventually ends up in the same river going to the sea if it doesn’t evaporate. However,
it can take a very long time. Catchment areas are separated from each other by watersheds. A
watershed is natural division line along the highest points in an area. Catchments are divided into sub
catchments, also along the lines of elevation.