You may think that every drop of rain that falls from the sky, or The heat of the sun provides energy to make each glass of water that you drink is brand new, but in fact it has the water cycle work. always been here and is a constant part of The Water Cycle!
The sun evaporates SUBLIMATION water from the oceans THE ATMOSPHERE into water vapor. CONDENSATION This invisible vapor rises ICE AND into the atmosphere, where the air is colder. SNOW Rainfall on land flows PRECIPITATION downhill as runoff, providing water to lakes, VOLCANIC rivers, and the oceans. STEAM The The water vapor condenses into clouds. EVAPOTRANSPIRATION
SNOWM ELT Water Some rain soaks into the EVAPORATION ground, as infiltration, RUNOFF and if deep enough, Cycle recharges groundwater.
Volcanoes emit steam, which forms clouds. Water from RIVERS RUNOFF lakes and rivers can also FOG AND DEW seep into the ground. Water moves underground Air currents move clouds because of gravity and all around the Earth. pressure. STREAMFLOW
Groundwater close to the Water drops form in EVAPOTRANSPIRATION land surface is taken up clouds, and the drops by plants. then fall to Earth as precipitation (rain and THE OCEANS snow). SPRING RUNOFF Some groundwater seeps into rivers and lakes, and can flow to the surface as springs. In cold climates, precipitation builds up LAKES as snow, ice, and glaciers. INFILTRATION Plants take up groundwater and evapotranspire, or evaporate, it from their leaves. SEEPAGE PLANT Snow can melt and UPTAKE become runoff, which RECHARGE flows into rivers, the oceans, and into the ground. Some groundwater goes GROUNDWATER FLOW very deep into the ground and stays there for a long time.
Some ice evaporates directly into the air, GROUNDWATER STORAGE skipping the melting Groundwater flows into phase (sublimation). U.S. Department of the Interior Stefanie Neno, Jim Morgan, Gabriele Zanolli, Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations the oceans, keeping the General Information Product 146 water cycle going. U.S. Geological Survey Howard Perlman, Gerard Gonthier, U.S. Geological Survey http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle-kids.html