Water Vapor:
- Gaseous state of water; the product of the evaporation of water
- Clouds are the water vapor made by lakes and rivers
- Examples: clouds, or steam
- Impacts: Water vapor is a greenhouse gas and is able to absorb thermal energy from the Earth, increasing the warmth of the atmosphere
Precipitation:
- Type of water released from the clouds
- Product of water vapor
- When a solution condenses, precipitation is the result
- Examples: rain, snow, sleet, hail, or fog
- Impacts: Precipitation gives plants water to assist in photosynthesis. It also creates runoff and percolation into soil.
Transpiration:
- Process by which water evaporates from the leaves of plants in terrestrial ecosystems
- Transpiration causes plants to take in water through their roots to replace water being lost through their leaves.
- Impacts: Transpiration can contribute to the loss of moisture in soil and affect vegetation
Runoff:
- The draining away of water from the surface of an area of land, a building or structure
- Product of precipitation
- Examples: mudslides, erosion
- Impacts: Runoff can help remove water from storms from the surface and can also pick up soil contaminants such as petroleum along the way.
Evaporation:
- Is the process of a substance in a liquid state changing to a gaseous state due to increase in temperature and or pressure
- Could occur from places like lakes and oceans
- Examples: Water on a hot day, sweating, or coming out of a shower
- Impacts: Evaporation helps form clouds, affects the humidity (amount of moisture in the air), and it causes the water levels to decrease, due to the heat
Percolation into Soil:
- When some water from precipitation moves downwards through openings in the soil and gets to the roots of plants
- Impacts: Percolation replenishes the permeable rocks, such as, gravel, sand, or silt under the ground
The Water Cycle
By: Mary Sanzone
David Lofgren
Nico Teta