The water cycle has no starting point, but we'll begin in the oceans, since that is where most of Earth's water exists. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air; a relatively smaller amount of moisture is added as ice and snow sublimate directly from the solid state into vapor. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapotranspiration, which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds.
The water cycle has no starting point, but we'll begin in the oceans, since that is where most of Earth's water exists. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air; a relatively smaller amount of moisture is added as ice and snow sublimate directly from the solid state into vapor. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapotranspiration, which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds.
Air currents move clouds around the globe, and cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. Snow-packs in warmer climates often thaw and melt when spring arrives, and the melted water flows overland as snowmelt. Most precipitation falls back into the oceans or onto land, where due to gravity, the precipitation flows over the ground assurface runoff. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, with streamflow moving water towards the oceans. Runoff, and groundwater seepage, accumulate and are stored as freshwater in lakes.
Not all runoff flows into rivers, though. Much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Some of the water infiltrates into the ground and replenishes aquifers, which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and the ocean) as groundwater discharge, and some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and emerges as freshwater springs. Yet, more groundwater is absorbed by plant roots to end up as evapotranspiration from the leaves. Over time, though, all of this water keeps moving, some to reenter the ocean, where the water cycle "ends."
Source: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html
Source: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/
The cycle is the continuous circulation of water from land and sea to the atmosphere and back again. Water evaporates from oceans, lakes, and rivers into the atmosphere. This water later precipitates as rain or snow onto the land where it evaporates or runs off into streams and rivers; or it infiltrates (seeps) into the soil and rock from which some is transpired back into the atmosphere by plants. The remainder becomes groundwater, which eventually seeps into streams or lakes from which it evaporates or flows to the oceans. The links below provide more information on the water cycle.
Source: http://www.liwc.org/education/the-water-cycle/
Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Water/
Source: http://www.scwa.com/assets/1/7/water_cycle_rev_11.PDF
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Table of Contents
State of the Aquifer, Long Island, New York - Introduction
- Precipitation
- NWIS - the USGS Data Archive
- Surface Water - Streamflow
- Groundwater Levels
- Water Table and Surface Maps
- Water Use
- Groundwater Budget
- Inflow to the Groundwater System
- Outflow from the Groundwater System
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Long Island Precipitation and Recharge
Long Island Surface Water
Long Island Groundwater
Long Island Hydrogeologic Units
Long Island Fresh and Saltwater Relations/Interactions
- Overview
The water cycle has no starting point, but we'll begin in the oceans, since that is where most of Earth's water exists. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air; a relatively smaller amount of moisture is added as ice and snow sublimate directly from the solid state into vapor. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapotranspiration, which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds.
The water cycle has no starting point, but we'll begin in the oceans, since that is where most of Earth's water exists. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air; a relatively smaller amount of moisture is added as ice and snow sublimate directly from the solid state into vapor. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapotranspiration, which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds.
Sources/Usage: Public Domain.This diagram is a small part of USGS's Water Science School, where anyone aged 5-95 can learn all about water.(Credit: Howard Perlman, USGS. Public domain.) Air currents move clouds around the globe, and cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. Snow-packs in warmer climates often thaw and melt when spring arrives, and the melted water flows overland as snowmelt. Most precipitation falls back into the oceans or onto land, where due to gravity, the precipitation flows over the ground assurface runoff. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, with streamflow moving water towards the oceans. Runoff, and groundwater seepage, accumulate and are stored as freshwater in lakes.
Not all runoff flows into rivers, though. Much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Some of the water infiltrates into the ground and replenishes aquifers, which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and the ocean) as groundwater discharge, and some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and emerges as freshwater springs. Yet, more groundwater is absorbed by plant roots to end up as evapotranspiration from the leaves. Over time, though, all of this water keeps moving, some to reenter the ocean, where the water cycle "ends."
Source: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesummary.html
Source: http://water.usgs.gov/edu/
The cycle is the continuous circulation of water from land and sea to the atmosphere and back again. Water evaporates from oceans, lakes, and rivers into the atmosphere. This water later precipitates as rain or snow onto the land where it evaporates or runs off into streams and rivers; or it infiltrates (seeps) into the soil and rock from which some is transpired back into the atmosphere by plants. The remainder becomes groundwater, which eventually seeps into streams or lakes from which it evaporates or flows to the oceans. The links below provide more information on the water cycle.
Source: http://www.liwc.org/education/the-water-cycle/
Source: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/Water/
Source: http://www.scwa.com/assets/1/7/water_cycle_rev_11.PDF
_______________________________
Table of Contents
State of the Aquifer, Long Island, New York - Introduction
- Precipitation
- NWIS - the USGS Data Archive
- Surface Water - Streamflow
- Groundwater Levels
- Water Table and Surface Maps
- Water Use
- Groundwater Budget
- Inflow to the Groundwater System
- Outflow from the Groundwater System
- Science
Below are other science projects associated with this project.
Long Island Precipitation and Recharge
Precipitation is water released from clouds in the form of rain, freezing rain, sleet, snow, or hail. It is the primary connection in the water cycle that provides for the delivery of atmospheric water to the Earth. Most precipitation falls as rain. Water seeping down from the land surface and reaching the water table adds to the groundwater and is called groundwater recharge. Groundwater is...Long Island Surface Water
Streams either gain water from inflow of groundwater from the underlying aquifer or lose water by outflow to the underlying aquifer. Many streams do both, gaining in some reaches and losing in other reaches. Furthermore, the groundwater flow directions near any given stream can change seasonally as the altitude of the water table changes with respect to the stream-surface altitude or when rapid...Long Island Groundwater
Approximately 30% of the world’s water is stored as groundwater. Groundwater moves very slowly, on the order of feet per day, however it is still part of the hydrologic cycle. Most of the water in the ground comes from precipitation that infiltrates downward from the land surface.Long Island Hydrogeologic Units
Long Island’s aquifer system consists of a seaward-dipping wedge of mostly unconsolidated stratified sediments comprised of sand, gravel, silt and clay.Long Island Fresh and Saltwater Relations/Interactions
Because saltwater has a greater density than freshwater, fresh groundwater in coastal aquifers will overlie any saltwater that is present in the aquifer at depth (Figure 14).