Title: Water Cycle Notes 31109
1Water Cycle Notes3/11/09
Objective students will record and define the
key elements of the
water cycle.
2cycle n.
- An interval of time during which a
characteristic, often regularly repeated event or
sequence of events occurs
3water cycle n.
- Natural circulation of water on Earth the
constant circulation of water between atmosphere,
land, and sea by evaporation, precipitation, and
percolation through soils and rocks
4Parts of the Water Cycle
- Ice comets
- Precipitation
- Condensation
- Evaporation
- Transpiration
- Sublimation
- Run off
- Infiltration
- Ground-water flow
- Ocean
- Rivers, creeks, and lakes
- Living creatures
- Sun
- Glaciers
5Where did all the water, in the system, come from?
- Theories suggests that the water may have come
from our solar system and beyond!
6Comets Provide Water for Earth
May 18, 2001 -- Last year comet C/1999 S4 (better
known as "Comet LINEAR") surprised astronomers by
breaking apart as it passed near the Sun. Now the
long-dead comet has surprised them again New
research shows Comet LINEAR was likely made up of
water with the same isotopic composition as water
found here on Earth. The finding supports a
controversial idea that cometary impacts billions
of years ago could have provided most of the
water in Earth's oceans.
Above A team of astronomers led by Hal Weaver
used the Hubble Space Telescope to capture this
image of Comet LINEAR breaking up in August 2000.
7Estimated Rate of Bombardment
comet
- 10 per minute
- 20-40 tons per event
- 1 inch of water to the surface of the Earth every
20,000 years.
8Now that the water is on the surface of the
planet, what drives the water cycle?
9The Sun
10It takes approximately 8.31 minutes for the Suns
radiation to reach Earth
11The Sun drives the Water Cycle by heating up
water molecules
12Evaporation
212 ºF
13Oceans
- 343,423,668,428,484,681,262 gallons of water in
the oceans
- Earth's ocean covers almost 71 of Earth's
surface to an average depth of about 3.8 km (2.4
mi)
- 85 of all evaporation worldwide
14(No Transcript)
15Evaporation
- Water molecules are heated from a liquid changing
to a gas
- Molecules move upward into the atmosphere
16Condensation
- Temperature drops -2 C per every 1,000 m of
altitude gained
- Water vapor turns to liquid
- Depends on the content of water in the air versus
the temperature
17Wind
- Caused by differences in heat and pressure
- Moves the condensation (clouds)
18Evapotranspiration
- Plants produce water and vapor through the
process of photosynthesis
19(No Transcript)
20Precipitation
- Condensation attaches to particles such as
pollution or dust and falls downward
- Rain, sleet, snow, hail, mist, dew, fog
21(No Transcript)
22Sublimation
- Solid to gas phase with no intermediate liquid
stage.
- Like the carbon dioxide on Mars dry ice turns
from solid to gas without changing to a liquid
23Run off
- When rain water or snow melt flows on the surface
24Infiltration
- Water travels through permeable rock
- Permeable pores are connected
25Ground-water flow
- Water flows down slope through permeable rock
26Rivers, creeks, and lakes
- Rivers and creeks transport water from run off,
glacial melt, and groundwater discharge
- Lakes and ponds store water
27Glaciers
- Hold most of Earths freshwater
- Glaciers melt forming streams
- Sublimation occurs on icy surface
28Living creatures
- Drink water
- Perspire
- Exhale moisture
29(No Transcript)