water cycle
Planetary moisture loop
The water cycle is the continuous movement of water through Earth's systems—evaporating from oceans and lakes, rising as vapor, condensing into clouds, falling as precipitation, and flowing back to bodies of water through rivers and groundwater.
Also called the hydrologic cycle.
We learned about the water cycle in fifth-grade science.
Water dropping from clouds
- snowFrozen crystalline precipitation
- sleetPartly frozen precipitation
- hailIcy precipitation pellets
- drizzleVery light precipitation
downpour · rainfall · showers · monsoon · thunderstorm · blizzard · freezing rain · squall
Airborne water masses
- dewOvernight surface condensation
- fogLow-lying cloud cover
- mistFine airborne moisture
- dropletsMinute liquid globules
nucleation · saturation · dewpoint · humidity · cooling · moisture · aerosols · cirrus
Botanical water vapor release
- vaporizationConversion to gas
- solar radiationEnergy emitted by sun
- latent heatPhase transition thermal energy
- sunlightRadiance from our star
heat · humidity · vapor · liquid · phase change · kinetic energy · surface area · evapotranspiration
Water in underground rock
- watershedDrainage area boundary
- river basinLand draining to one waterway
- lakesLarge inland water bodies
- reservoirsBodies storing water supply
oceans · streams · runoff · infiltration · percolation · springs · wetlands · catchment
All life on Earth
- hydrospherePlanet's total water mass
- photosynthesisLight-to-sugar conversion in plants
- biodiversityRange of life forms
- habitatOrganism's natural environment
wetlands · estuary · flora · fauna · ecological balance · food web · freshwater ecosystems · marine ecosystems
Rising planetary temperatures
- sea level riseIncreasing ocean surface height
- extreme weatherUnusual, dangerous atmospheric events
- droughtsExtended periods without precipitation
- floodsOverflowing onto dry land
ice caps · feedback loops · climate patterns · El Niño · La Niña · polar ice · permafrost · ocean currents
rain
Water dropping from clouds
drizzle · downpour · rainfall · showers · monsoon · thunderstorm · blizzard · freezing rain · squall · flurries
clouds
Airborne water masses
droplets · nucleation · saturation · dewpoint · humidity · cooling · moisture · aerosols · cirrus · stratus
transpiration
Botanical water vapor release
- vaporizationConversion to gas
- solar radiationEnergy emitted by sun
- latent heatPhase transition thermal energy
sunlight · heat · humidity · vapor · liquid · phase change · kinetic energy · surface area · evapotranspiration · thermal energy
groundwater
Water in underground rock
- watershedDrainage area boundary
- river basinLand draining to one waterway
- lakesLarge inland water bodies
reservoirs · oceans · streams · runoff · infiltration · percolation · springs · wetlands · catchment · drainage basin
biosphere
All life on Earth
- hydrospherePlanet's total water mass
- photosynthesisLight-to-sugar conversion in plants
- biodiversityRange of life forms
habitat · wetlands · estuary · flora · fauna · ecological balance · food web · freshwater ecosystems · marine ecosystems
global warming
Rising planetary temperatures
- sea level riseIncreasing ocean surface height
- extreme weatherUnusual, dangerous atmospheric events
- droughtsExtended periods without precipitation
floods · ice caps · feedback loops · climate patterns · El Niño · La Niña · polar ice · permafrost · ocean currents
- ecologyhabitat, ecosystem, balance, niche, food webs
- ecosystemecosystem, ecosystems, biome, habitat, food chain
- environmental scienceecology, air quality, ecosystem, ecosystems, soil testing
- Natural Processesphotosynthesis, decomposition, evaporation, erosion, precipitation
- science imagesDNA helix, petri dish, test tube, beaker, periodic table
- natural cyclescircadian rhythm, seasons, tides, moon phases, lunar cycles
water cycleentropy
Quantified chaos in systems
runoff · dissipation · drainage · dead end · cascade
water cyclestagnation
Absence of flow or progress
stagnant water · standing water · still water · dead water · frozen state
water cyclegroundwater depletion
Excessive withdrawal from underground reserves
resource extraction · non-renewable resources · desertification · water scarcity
water, cycle, bicycle, recycle, cycling, aquatic, recycling, dehydrate, recycled