AICE Environmental Management - Water Cycle

The Water Cycle

A process in which water moves from the sea, into the atmosphere, onto and into land, and back to the sea

Evaporation

The process by which liquid turns into gas

Transpiration

Water lost through the leaves of plants

Condensation

the process by which a gas changes into a liquid due to cooling

Precipitation

water that falls to the ground as rain, snow, hail, and sleet

Runoff

The draining away of water as overland flow

Through-flow

Lateral transfer of water downslope through the soil

Interception

The blocking of rainfall by vegetation, preventing it from reaching the ground

Infiltration

The movement of water into the soil from the surface

Groundwater

Water found underground in cracks and spaces in the soil, sand, and rocks

Groundwater recharge

Rain water percolating down through soil into aquifer.

Groundwater flow

Water which flows under the ground until it reaches the surface

Aquifer

Underground layer of permeable rock in which water is stored in the rock pores

Abstraction

The process of taking water from a groundwater source

Closed System

A system in which materials is neither being created or lost.

Through-fall

Rain that falls through leaves and branches of plants.

Stemflow

Rainfall that reaches the ground in a forest by draining down the trunks of plants

Humidity

percentage of water vapor in the air