PART 2: THE WATER CYCLE

KEY TERMS The 1 386 000 000 km3 of water

Evaporation: the process in which liquid water turns on Earth is a fixed amount that
into vapour, the opposite of condensation neither increases nor decreases.
Condensation: the process in which water vapour However, water exists in
turns in to liquid water, the opposite of evaporation different forms and is found in
Precipitation: the process in which liquid water (as many places. At one time a
rain) or ice particles (as snow or hail) fall to Earth due particular water molecule may
to gravity
be within ice in a glacier, at
Transpiration: the movement of water up plants and another in a drop of rain. It may
its subsequent loss as water vapour from their leaves
be in the ocean or in a fast-
Surface run-off: the process by which water runs over flowing river in the far north.
the ground into rivers
The change in the state of water
Interception: the process by which precipitation is will often lead to a change in
stopped from reaching the ground surface by the
where it is.
presence of trees and other plants

Infiltration: the process by which water seeps into The ice in a glacier may melt
the ground and become liquid water. It may
Groundwater flow: the process by which infiltrated then enter a river that flows into
water flows through rocks a lake. With the warmth of the
Through flow: the process by which infiltrated water Sun on the lake, water may
flows through the soil evaporate and become vapour.
This vapour can then rise into the sky, condense and form clouds. Under
certain circumstances, the water in these clouds will fall as rain or snow, called
precipitation. It may then enter the soil and be taken up by the roots of plant,
to be transported up the plant in the transpiration stream. This movement is
driven by the loss of water from the plant in the process of transpiration. Other
possibilities are that that it will flow along the ground in a process called
surface run-off, be trapped by the leaves of plants, a process called
interception, or enter the ground by infiltration and then become part of
groundwater flow (if it flows through rocks) or through flow (if it flows through
soil).
All these changes in the state of water and its place on the Earth are
summarised in the water cycle.

Figure 1 The main processes in the water cycle. The arrows represent the processes, these are described in the text in this
section.