Transcript The Water Cycle (Hydrological)

Reservoirs
 Atmosphere
- Water vapor is stored above the Earth in the form of clouds.
 Accumulation
- Water is stored in a liquid form, such as oceans and lakes.
 Groundwater
- Water is absorbed into the soil and stored.
Natural Processes
 Evaporation
- Water vapor from the accumulation reservoir, goes into the
atmosphere.
 Transpiration
- Water vapor that comes from the leaves of plants and goes
into the atmosphere.
 Condensation
- Water vapor turns into liquid water, forms clouds in the
atmosphere.
Natural Processes continued…
 Precipitation
- Water is released from clouds in the form of rain, snow, or
hail.
 Infiltration
- Rain water is absorbed into the ground and becomes part
of the groundwater reservoir.
 Run-off
- When excessive rain water can not be absorbed by the soil,
it then flows into nearby streams and lakes.
Human-induced Processes
 Water removal
- The removal of large quantities of freshwater from rivers, lakes
and groundwater supplies, lack of liquid water.
 Adding Nutrients and Contaminants
- Causes the ecological processes that usually purify the water to
be disturbed.
 Vegetation removal
- used to create new farmland, build new roads, build
underground
- causes rainwater to wash away and interferes with infiltration
- increases the risk of flooding, soil erosion, and land sliding
Sources of Imbalance
 Melting Ice Caps
- Increased global temperature accelerates the melting of
glaciers,affecting the oceans salinity and density.
 Evaporation and Precipitation Rates
- Rising global temperatures increases the rate of
evaporation,which leads to increased rainfall.
 The Deep Blue Sea
- Changes in the ocean afffects the water cycle the most
because the majority of water comes from there.
Possible Steps to Restore Equilibrium
 Reduce deforestation
 Reduce the use of phosphorus in fertilizers
 Reduce air pollution