What is the Water Cycle?
We live on a very watery world. From space, Earth looks blue because of all the water. The water found in our oceans, rivers, and lakes is not the only place where water can be found, however. Water can also be found in Earth’s atmosphere or air. But how does water get into the air?
The water cycle is the movement of water from the ground to the air and back to the ground again. This movement of water takes place through the processes of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation and is driven by the energy of the sun.
Every day, the sun warms the Earth and its water. As the sun warms the liquid water, it heats up and changes into an invisible gas called water vapor that rises into the sky. This process is called evaporation.
As the water vapor rises into the atmosphere, it begins to cool down. When water vapor cools, it turns back into tiny drops of liquid water. This process is called condensation. Soon, these tiny drops of water join together and form clouds.
As water continues to evaporate and rise into the air, the water drops in clouds get bigger and heavier. Soon the drops are too heavy to remain in the air and they fall to the Earth as precipitation. Precipitation is liquid or solid water that falls from the air to the Earth’s surface. It can fall in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
When precipitation falls as liquid water, it is called rain. Solid forms of precipitation occur when liquid water freezes as it falls to the Earth. Some solid forms of precipitation are snow, sleet, and hail. Snow is made when water drops freeze into beautiful ice crystals as they fall. Sleet is formed when snow and rain mix together as they fall. Hail is made of larger pieces of ice. Hailstones can be the size of a pea or as large as a golf ball. Some hailstones can be even larger. Ouch!
Can you explain the water cycle to a fellow meteorologist?
The water cycle is the movement of water from the ground to the air and back to the ground again. This movement of water takes place through the processes of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation and is driven by the energy of the sun.
Every day, the sun warms the Earth and its water. As the sun warms the liquid water, it heats up and changes into an invisible gas called water vapor that rises into the sky. This process is called evaporation.
As the water vapor rises into the atmosphere, it begins to cool down. When water vapor cools, it turns back into tiny drops of liquid water. This process is called condensation. Soon, these tiny drops of water join together and form clouds.
As water continues to evaporate and rise into the air, the water drops in clouds get bigger and heavier. Soon the drops are too heavy to remain in the air and they fall to the Earth as precipitation. Precipitation is liquid or solid water that falls from the air to the Earth’s surface. It can fall in the form of rain, snow, sleet, or hail.
When precipitation falls as liquid water, it is called rain. Solid forms of precipitation occur when liquid water freezes as it falls to the Earth. Some solid forms of precipitation are snow, sleet, and hail. Snow is made when water drops freeze into beautiful ice crystals as they fall. Sleet is formed when snow and rain mix together as they fall. Hail is made of larger pieces of ice. Hailstones can be the size of a pea or as large as a golf ball. Some hailstones can be even larger. Ouch!
Can you explain the water cycle to a fellow meteorologist?