| What this Means: The picture shows the Hydrologic Cycle in action. The process begins with condensation (the formation of clouds). This happen when the temperature of the earth changes. So when the air is cool enough, the water vapor has to condense on particles in the air to for the clouds. Now that there are clouds, the weight of the moisture is too much and they release it in the form of precipitation (rain, snow, or hail). The next three stages happen at the same time or simultaneously. I will start with infiltration, (when water seeps into the ground). This water can be absorbed by roots and make its way to an ocean or river to be evapotranspiration. Runoff (second of the 3 simultaneously stages) is the precipitation that is sliding down land surface. This water makes its way to plants or a body of water just like infiltration. The third of the three simultaneous stages is evapotranspiration. This is the return of moisture to the air through evaporation and transpiration. This means when the dew on plants evaporate to the sky from the heat of the sun and when a body of water or water from the soil evaporates due to the heat of the sun. That vapor condenses into clouds and the cycle begins again! |
