Is every drop of water part of the water cycle?

Is every drop of water part of the water cycle?

You may think every drop of rain falling from the sky, or each glass of water you drink, is brand new, but it has always been here, and is a part of the water cycle. Energy from the sun causes water on the surface to evaporate into water vapor – a gas.

Where does a drop of water go in the water cycle?

water drop The water cycle is how water moves from the land and ocean into the atmosphere, and then back to the land and ocean.

How does water move around the water cycle?

Water in different phases moves through the atmosphere (transportation). Liquid water flows across land (runoff), into the ground (infiltration and percolation), and through the ground (groundwater). Groundwater moves into plants (plant uptake) and evaporates from plants into the atmosphere (transpiration).

Can you follow a drop of water through the water cycle?

You may be familiar with how water is always cycling around, through, and above the Earth, continually changing from liquid water to water vapor to ice. One way to envision the water cycle is to follow a drop of water around as it moves on its way. Read on to learn more about the journey.

Where does the water cycle take place on the Earth?

A Multi-Phased Journey. The water, or hydrologic, cycle describes the pilgrimage of water as water molecules make their way from the Earth’s surface to the atmosphere and back again, in some cases to below the surface.

How long does a drop of water stay in the atmosphere?

A drop of water may spend over 3,000 years in the ocean before evaporating into the air, while a drop of water spends an average of just nine days in the atmosphere before falling back to Earth. Water spends thousands to hundreds of thousands of years in the large ice sheets that cover Antarctica and Greenland.

Which is the best way to envision the water cycle?

One way to envision the water cycle is to follow a drop of water around as it moves on its way. I could really begin this story anywhere along the cycle, but I think the ocean is the best place to start, since that is where most of Earth’s water is.