The Water Cycle

Water storage in oceans: The vast majority of the Earth's water is held in oceans, which serve as the primary reservoir from which most water evaporates into the atmosphere.
Water storage in ice and snow: A significant portion of the Earth's freshwater is locked in solid form within glaciers, ice caps, and permanent snowfields. These reservoirs release water slowly over time through melting or phase changes.
Freshwater storage: This includes water located on the Earth's surface in the form of lakes, ponds, and reservoirs, which provide essential water for ecosystems and human consumption.
Water storage in the atmosphere: Water is held in the air as vapor, clouds (which are made of liquid water droplets or ice crystals), and precipitation in transit to the surface.

Evaporation: The process by which liquid water from the surface of oceans, lakes, and other bodies of water is converted into water vapor and rises into the atmosphere.
Evapotranspiration: This is the combined process of evaporation from the land surface and the transpiration of water from plants into the atmosphere. It represents a major pathway for water to return to the air from terrestrial environments.
Sublimation: This occurs when ice and snow transition directly into water vapor without passsing through a liquid phase. It is a key process for the loss of mass from glaciers and snowpacks in cold, dry conditions.
Condensation: The process by which water vapor in the atmosphere cools and changes back into liquid water droplets, forming clouds. This is a critical step in the formation of precipitation.
Precipitation: Water that falls from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface in various forms, including rain, snow, sleet, or hail.

Snowmelt runoff to streams: As temperatures rise, snow and ice melt, creating runoff that flows across the land and directly into stream channels.
Surface runoff: When precipitation falls faster than the ground can absorb it, the excess water flows over the land surface toward the nearest stream or body of water.
Streamflow: The movement of water within a river or stream channel. Streamflow is a primary mechanism for transporting water from higher elevations toward the oceans or internal basins.

Infiltration: The process by which precipitation or meltwater on the ground surface penetrates and moves down into the soil and rock layers.
Ground-water storage: Water that resides beneath the Earth's surface in the pore spaces of soil and the fractures of rock formations. This water can remain underground for very long periods.
Ground-water discharge: This occurs when water from the subsurface storage moves out of the ground and into surface water bodies like streams, lakes, or the ocean.
Spring: A natural location where ground water flows out from an aquifer to the surface of the earth, often forming the headwaters of streams.

Institutional Authorship: The water cycle information is provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), an agency of the U.S. Department of the Interior.
Source Reference: Additional informational resources can be found at the official web address: http://na water usgs.gov/edu/watercycle html.