1.7 - Water Cycle :) Flashcards
What is the water cycle
the movement of H2O between sources and sinks/reservoirs
What are important in the H2O cycle
- State of the water (solid, liquid, gas)
- Where water is moving
What drives the H2O cycle
the energy from the sun
What is the largest reservior
the ocean
What are other reservoirs
Ice caps & groundwater are smaller reservoirs, but contain fresh, useable water for humans
What are the two main sources of water
- evaporation
- evapotranspiration
- they are processes that cycle H2O from liquid on earth back into the atmosphere
- sometimes called vaporization because the water becomes water vapor (gas) in the atmosphere
What is transpiration
process plants use to draw groundwater from roots up to their leaves
Explain transpiration
- Leaf openings called stomata open, allowing water to evap. into atm. from leaf
- movement of H2O out of leaf creates low H2O potential in leaf, pulling H2O up from roots
What is evapotranspiration
amount of H2O that enters atm. from transpiration & evap. combined
What are both transpiration and evaporation driven by
energy from the sun
What is runoff
Precipitation flowing over earths surface into a body of water
What is infiltration
Precipitation trickling through soil down into groundwater aquifiers
What are important reservoirs for humans and animals
Geoundwater (aquifers) & surface waters (lakes/rivers) are important freshwater reservoirs for humans & animals
What has to happen for groundwater to recharge through infiltration
the ground has to be permeable
What does runoff do?
Runoff recharges surface waters, but can also carry pollutants into water sources
