a) The water cycle consists of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, surface runoff, infiltration, transpiration, groundwater, and absorption.
The first step to the water cycle is evaporation. Evaporation is when the water in the oceans, and lakes turn into water vapor. For the water to turn into water vapor, the temperature must be warm. If the water isn't warm, it will take quite a long time to evaporate. "During the process of evaporation, impurities in the water are left behind. As a result, the water that goes into the atmosphere is cleaner than it was on Earth."(a2)
The next step is condensation. The water vapor in the sky turns to a liquid. "When the water droplets formed from condensation are very small, they remain suspended in the atmosphere."(a2) These droplets in the sky form clouds.
"When the temperature and atmospheric pressure are right, the small droplets of water in clouds form larger droplets and precipitation occurs."(a2) Then, the rain falls to the ground.
In the surface runoff stage, water from condensation flows into streams. "Small streams flow into larger streams, then into rivers, and eventually the water flows into the ocean. Surface runoff is an important part of the water cycle because, through surface runoff, much of the water returns again to the oceans, where a great deal of evaporation occurs." (a2)
In infiltration, the water soaks into the ground, through the rock and soil layers. During this process, most of the impurities are filtered out. After this, some of the water stays in the ground as ground water. Also, some of the water is absorbed into the ground, which waters plants.
Transpiration is when the plants absorb water from the soil, the water moves from the roots to the stems of the trees. After the water reaches the leaves, the water is evaporated.
b) "Watershed refers to the land over and through which water flows to reach a common water body. It has two components - surface drainage and groundwater drainage"(b2) Just as surface water flows through the land, from gravity, the groundwater flows through soil. Groundwater flows much slower though. In a watershed, small streams flow into larger streams, which then flows into rivers and lakes. " A watershed is a basin-like landform defined by highpoints and ridgelines that descend into lower elevations and stream valleys."(b1)
c) All rivers and streams start at a high point. "Small rivers and streams may join together to become larger rivers. Eventually all this water from rivers and streams will run into the ocean or an inland body of water like a lake."(c2) As the water from the rivers cut up into the land, erosion occurs. As the rivers cut up, rocks and soil are grinded up, or moved. After a while, the water can build a new land form, or a new river.
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| http://www.tutorvista.com/content/physics/physics-i/heat/evaporation.php |
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| http://pubs.usgs.gov/fs/fs15099/ |
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| http://www.melbournewater.org/content/about_us/who_we_are/what_we_do.asp |
a1) http://www.nwrfc.noaa.gov/info/water_cycle/hydrology.cgi, Description of the Hydrologic Cycle, NOAA, December 7, 2010.
a2) www.mbgnet.net/fresh/cycle/index.htm, The Water Cycle Introduction, The Evergreen Project, 1998.
b1) http://www.watershedatlas.org/fs_indexwater.html, Whats a Watershed, Watershed Atlas, Unkown Date.
b2) http://www.naugawatshed.org/What%20is%20a%20watershed.htm, What is a watershed?, Naugatuck River, Unknown Date.
c1) http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/nwep7j.htm, Rivers and Streams, Nature Works, 2010.
c2) http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesublimation.html, The water Cycle, USGS, February 8, 2011.
