![]() Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and the ocean) as groundwater discharge, and some groundwater finds openings in the land surface and emerges as freshwater springs. ![]() Some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes aquifers (saturated subsurface rock), which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time. ![]() Much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Not all runoff flows into rivers, though. Runoff, and groundwater seepage, accumulate and are stored as freshwater in lakes. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, with streamflow moving water towards the oceans. Most precipitation falls back into the oceans or onto land, where, due to gravity, the precipitation flows over the ground as surface runoff. Snowpacks in warmer climates often thaw and melt when spring arrives, and the melted water flows overland as snowmelt. ![]() Some precipitation falls as snow and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds.Īir currents move clouds around the globe, cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky as precipitation. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapotranspiration, which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. Ice and snow can sublimate directly into water vapor. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans. But, we'll begin in the oceans, since that is where most of Earth's water exists. Volcanic activity kept and still keeps introducing water in the atmosphere, thus increasing the surface- and groundwater volume of the Earth. Water set free by magma began to cool down the Earth's atmosphere, until it could stay on the surface as a liquid. Where does all the Earth's water come from? Primordial Earth was an incandescent globe made of magma, but all magmas contain water. Access in-depth information about each component of the water cycle:Ī (very) quick summary of the water cycle ![]()
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