...A Summary of the Hydrologic Cycle The hydrologic cycle begins with the evaporation of water from the surface of the ocean. As moist air is lifted, it cools and water vapor condenses to form clouds. Moisture is transported around the globe until it returns to the surface as precipitation. Once the water reaches the ground, one of two processes may occur; 1) some of the water may evaporate back into the atmosphere or 2) the water may penetrate the surface and become groundwater. Groundwater either seeps its way to into the oceans, rivers, and streams, or is released back into the atmosphere through transpiration. The balance of water that remains on the earth's surface is runoff, which empties into lakes, rivers and streams and is carried back to the oceans, where the cycle begins again. Lake effect snowfall is good example of the hydrologic cycle at work. Below is a vertical cross-section summarizing the processes of the hydrologic cycle that contribute to the production of lake effect snow. The cycle begins as cold winds (horizontal blue arrows) blow across a large lake, a phenomena that occurs frequently in the late fall and winter months around the Great Lakes. Evaporation of warm surface water increases the amount of moisture in the colder, drier air flowing immediately above the lake surface. With continued evaporation, water vapor in the cold air condenses to form ice-crystal clouds, which are transported toward shore. | By the time these clouds reach the shoreline,...
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...Material cycles and elements that impact the cycle...I chose "The water cycle". As our professor cleverly pointed out, the earth is the only planet we have and it does require each of us to do our part and preserving our earth for future generations to come. Learning about the water cycle is an interesting process. Because water is life, especially in the region where I live, high deserts cause you to think and plan carefully, always carrying extra water for excursions and hiking. There are several things I didn't know studying this topic and the cycle. Only 2.5% of water is fresh water! This also causes me to look at watershed projects a whole lot more carefully. Without our watershed are aquifers could just disappear. People have...
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...chemical compositions that make up organisms and connect them together. Matter takes up space and has a mass all of its own. It will cycle between the living and non-living components of any ecosystem and will continue to be recycled over and over again. It is because of these biogeochemical cycles that the ecosystems stay balanced and organisms stay alive. These cycles contain food, water, air as well as their surroundings (Miller and Hackett, 2012). There are four main cycles: water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorous. With all of these systems working together, matter is able to be recycled with the help of solar energy. The first cycle is the water or hydrologic cycle. This is the cycle that is most familiar because it is often taught in subjects such as biology and chemistry. The water cycle recycles the Earth’s fixed supply of water (Miller and Hackett, 2012). A good portion of the earth’s water is in the oceans. The sun causes the water to evaporate and as the vapor cools, it turns into droplets. When these droplets become big enough, they return to the earth and run along its surface until they reach a water source such as a river or stream. These sources will carry the runoff back to an ocean or lake. Water enters plants through their roots and the water cycle begins all over again. The next cycle is the carbon cycle. Carbon is the main ingredient of organic compounds as it is found in the...
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...Planning for Assessment Sample |Area of Study: The water cycle | |Grade: 3 | |Standard(s) Covered: | |National Science Standards: K–4 Content Standard A | |As a result of activities in grades K–4, all students should develop: 1) abilities necessary to do scientific inquiry, and 2) understanding about | |scientific inquiry. | |Science Standard of Learning for VA Public Schools 3.9 | |Students will investigate and understand the water cycle and its relationship to life on Earth. Key concepts include: 1) the origin of energy that | |drives the water cycle, 2) processes involved in the water cycle (evaporation, condensation, precipitation), and 3) water supply and water | |conservation. ...
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...Name Class Date 3.4 Cycles of Matter Lesson Objectives Describe how matter cycles among the living and nonliving parts of an ecosystem. Describe how water cycles through the biosphere. Explain why nutrients are important in living systems. Describe how the availability of nutrients affects the productivity of ecosystems. Lesson Summary Recycling in the Biosphere Matter, unlike energy, is recycled within and between ecosystems. Elements pass from one organism to another and from one part of the biosphere to another through biogeochemical cycles, which are closed loops powered by the flow of energy. The Water Cycle Water moves between the ocean, the atmosphere, and land. Evaporation is the process in which water changes from a liquid to a gas. Transpiration is the process in which water evaporates from the leaves of plants. Nutrient Cycles The chemical substances that an organism needs to survive are called nutrients. Like water, nutrients pass through organisms and the environment. Carbon Cycle: Carbon is a key ingredient of all organic compounds. Processes involved in the carbon cycle include photosynthesis and human activities such as burning. Nitrogen Cycle: Nitrogen is needed by all organisms to build proteins. Processes involved in the nitrogen cycle include nitrogen fixation and denitrification. • In nitrogen fixation, certain bacteria convert nitrogen gas into ammonia. • In denitrification, other soil bacteria convert nitrogen...
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...– “THE STUDY OF WATER” A stream is a flow of running water, large or small, whereas a river is a large stream of water. Both are integral parts of the hydrological cycle – their main function is to transport water from the land to the sea. Hydrological cycle – it is another term for the water cycle. Precipitation – It’s the type, total amount and intensity of precipitation are key factors in determining the nature of water movement Interception – Vegetation intercepts some precipitation on its way to the ground, water is lost back into the atmosphere by evapotranspiration. Intercepting plants use water for growth and vegetation reduces and slows down water transfer. Infiltration - It involves water moving from the ground surface into the soil, the rate of this depends on moisture content of the soil and its porosity. Evaporation – It’s when water is loss from the ground surface into the atmosphere Overland flow – It’s a rapid form of water transfer over the surface of the ground, it’s likely to happen during periods of heavy rainfall or when the soil has become completely saturated. Evapo-transpiration – It’s when water is loss from the ground surface to the atmosphere, combines with water given off from plants to form the main output from the system. Through-flow – The downhill transfer of water through the soil layer to the river, this shallow transfer can be quite rapid in very porous sandy soils. Percolation – The deeper transfer of water into permeable rocks...
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...The Hydrologic Cycle Cindy Hamilton EVS1001-12 Everest University Seventy-five of our planet’s surfaces are water. Water makes up most of the volume of plants and animals. It is in the air as rain, steam, fog and snow. Only three percent of the earth’s water is available to us as fresh water. Fortunately, water is a renewable resource. It is recycled. It moves in perpetual motion from land to air then back to land. That’s the whole idea behind the hydrologic cycle. Evaporation, transpiration, respiration or combustion, water continues to recycle itself. The water cycle makes life possible for all creatures and plants. During evaporation, the sun evaporates water from seas and land masses and converts it to a vapor, or gas, which ascends into the atmosphere. Water vapor can condense as fog or mist, but most often it collects to form clouds. When clouds become saturated with water vapor, precipitation occurs. Water falls to the earth as a raindrop, snow and even hail, depending on the climate, season, and topography. Not all of the precipitation will reach the earth. Some will evaporate between the sky and the land and reenter the water cycle. Water that reaches the earth either runs across a land surface, falls into a body of water, or infiltrates soil to collect underground. Infiltration is the process where water is filtered through nonporous rock and soil to collect in aquifers and underground streams. Through wells and through irrigation, the water can be pumped...
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...Phase 1 Individual Project SCI201-1403A-12 Environmental Science and Sustainability July 10, 2014 Trena Woolridge Just to keep the theme going from the discussion board 2 assignment I decided to research and write about the Tropical Rainforest. I have always found the world’s rainforests to be very interesting with all of their secrets they hold inside of them. By doing this paper it will allow me to discover more in-depth information on the Tropical Rainforests. I wonder what all I will discover? There are many rainforests in the world but can be found only in three major geographical areas around the world. The one that stands out the most to me is the Tropical Rainforest in Central America in the Amazon Basin from the previous assignment I researched. Others are located in Africa, Australia, and Assam to name a few. Tropical Rainforests are made up of large trees, exotic wildlife, and thousands of species of plants. The structure of the Tropical Rainforest is very complex but can be simple to understand when broken down into sections. The rainforest can be divided into layers from top to bottom and can get a better understanding of the Tropical Rainforest as a whole. The different layers are: emergent, the canopy, the understory, and the leaf litter or cryptoshere or also known as the ground. Emergent are the larger, taller trees that stick out above the canopy. They can be 20-100 feet above the canopy and endures strong winds, temperature fluctuations, and damaging...
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...overwintering habitat; protect natural habitat for shorebirds and seabirds; protect nesting and foraging conditions for threatened or endangered species” The Bolsa Chica Conservancy (BCC) is a local volunteer organization that assists in maintaining the area. Its goals are to ensure the preservation, restoration, and enhancement of the area (2010). This dynamic, yet fragile, ecosystem has been preserved since 1965, flourishing under diligent and careful management. Coastal ecosystems include marshes, coastal waters, estuaries, and lands located at the lower end of drainage basins, where rivers and streams meet the sea or ocean (United States FWS, 2010). These complex ecosystems are composed of biotic communities; plants, animals, birds, and microbes, and the abiotic community; nonliving, chemical, and physical. According to Wright (2008) the type of biotic community found in a given area, is largely determined by the abiotic factors, such as the amount of water, climate, the salinity, or type of soil. Bolsa Chica has a wealth of plant and animal species including Sea Lettuce, Pickleweed, Shoregrass, Jaumea, and many shore birds such as, Ducks, Grebes, Western Sandpipers, and Savannah Sparrows. According to Wright, (2008), ecosystems have the same structure, regardless of their diversity, consisting of autotrophs, or producers, which produce organic matter that becomes the source of energy for heterotrophs, consumers, detritus feeders, and decomposers. Amigos of Bolsa...
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...always been used in the universe in the past and apply everywhere. Actualism – is a basic tenet of science and applies on all time scales; if a physicist performs an experiment at any time they will assume that an identical experiment will yield the same result. Geologists have an understanding that Earth's processes have operated at different rates at different times. Rock Cycle – Central to the uniformitarian view of Earth is the rock cycle; which is the endless pathway along which rocks of various kinds change into rocks of other kinds. There are two simple principles that recognize each step of this cycle; intrusive relationships and inclusions. The principle of intrusive relationships state that intrusive igneous rock is always younger than the rock it is invading. When it comes to the inclusions. this states that when fragments of one body of rock are found within a second body of rock, the second body is always younger than the first. The rock cycle is actually many kinds of cycles that can become part of another rock rather that are similar or different. Water Cycle – Water moves through earth in a...
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...Q3 Impacts of climate change on Australian water resources The earth has a very perfect hydrologic cycle. It maintains water balance one the earth, promotes the prosperity of earth. However, the human activities in recent decades has largely disturb the hydrological cycle. Between 1990 and 2000, Australia lost an average of 325,900 hectares of forest per year. Australia has about 0.19% deforestation rate (mongabay, 2012). Due to the colonization and urbanization, in 200 years, Australia has lost 25% rainforest, 45% of open forest, 32% woodland forest and 30% of malle forest in 200 years (Forestnetwork, 2003). The situation has improved a lot in recent years as the government release many new policies to protect the forest resources. Forest can transport large amount of water into the atmosphere by plant transpiration. It replenishes the clouds and makes the rainfall. The rainfall brings water to the earth surface to refill ground water and irrigate the soils. It maintains earth water balance. However cutting forests can break this balance causes less rainfall, dry land and turns the forest into desert (WWF, 2015). Another big concern is the CO2 emission. Plants can mitigate carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gas emissions and release oxygen. The main purpose to cutting forest is burn the fuel. This process produces large amount of greenhouse gases. Deforestation makes the greenhouse effect worse. Australia are the highest greenhouse gas polluters, per-person, among the organization...
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.... Taste the water in the collecting jar. Is it salty? Explain why or why not in 1 to 2 sentences. (2 points) Yes the water did tast salty, I thing that when I was running with the bowl at one point some of the salty water c 2. Explain how the water gets into the collecting jar. (2 points) Water gets into the colleting jar when the already vaporized water falls into the glass jar. 3. If you noticed drops of water appearing on the inside of the plastic, explain where those drops came from. (2 points) The sun caused the water to evaporate and because there was plastic rap on the surface of the container the evaporated water rested there. 4. Explain in your own words how the solar distiller works. (3 points) When salt water is set out into the sun the solar radiation causes the water evaporate into gas. When that happens the water and the...
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...worms and insects, which in turn are food for animals. Microbes break down organic materials and create the basic elements of soil. Earthworms create tunnels that let air and water into the ground. Lichens emit chemicals that break down rocks and wood. Holiday trees recycled in the woods create shelter for small animals; those deposited in lakes or reservoirs become habitat for fish, or they can be chopped and turned into mulch. Most people are familiar with composting, where food waste is saved and used as fertilizer for gardens. The entire food chain could be said to rely on various forms of recycling. Water is also recycled in nature. This is known as the water cycle. Water on earth evaporates into the atmosphere from the heat of the sun and from rain and snow. Air currents move that atmospheric water, creating clouds, which move around the globe and create precipitation. "When precipitation falls over the land surface, it follows various routes. Some of it evaporates, returning to the atmosphere, and some seeps into the ground (as soil moisture or groundwater). . . . The rest of the water runs off into rivers and streams, and almost all of this water eventually flows into the oceans or other bodies of water, where the cycle begins anew (or, more accurately, continues)." Approximately one-third of the water that falls on land drains into...
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...Landforms Cody Carns GEO 101—Earth Science Colorado State University—Global Campus Dr. Sue Finstick December 23, 2013 Landforms Without the process of the hydrologic cycle, there would be no such thing as life. We can’t survive without water, and this is the specific way we are able to understand how water moves in the world. The hydrologic cycle is the process that transports water between the sky, land and oceans all driven by the sun’s energy. The purpose of this paper is to explain the cycle, and relate it to the particular region of my residence in Colorado, but also provide an insight to how it differs from something such as a desert landscape. Having the benefit of being exposed to many different climates through out my short adventures, it’s fascinating to see the effect of the water cycle in multiple regions. Hydrologic Cycle To better understand the water cycle, we need to look at the reservoirs where the water is stored. These can come in many different forms such as oceans, glaciers, icecaps as well as the atmosphere. When talking about the water, it is crucial to remember we are talking about the chemical substance H2O, which include liquid, solid, and gaseous form (NESTA, 2008). The climate changes produce many different variations in the hydrologic cycle, and the different routes the water takes between these reservoirs as mentioned are called the pathways or flows. The main ways of travel between the various types of reservoirs are evaporation, condensation...
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...In this report I will discuss the environmental effects of the disposable water bottle life cycle. In order to understand the water bottle life cycle, it would benefit you if you knew a little about the environment. So I will explain the normal functioning of water, carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus cycle to start things off. Water plays many different roles on the Earth. Some is at the poles in ice caps, and some is in the snow and glaciers at the tops of high mountains. Some is in lakes and streams, and some is underground. Some is vapor in the atmosphere. But most of the water on Earth is in the oceans. Water is always on the move! The Sun’s energy causes water to evaporate from oceans and lakes into the atmosphere (Saundry). Plants and animals...
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