The Water Cycle

Processes in the Water Cycle

The water cycle is made up of 5 processes
Evaporation/transpiration- water vapor entering the atmosphere (from large bodies or water or plants Condensation- when air cools down, it cant hold all the moisture so it forms liquid drops on surfaces Precipitation- when water droplets get too large and fall out of clouds back to the Earth Runoff- water that flows back to the oceans over the land

The Water Cycle

Where Freshwater is Found

Atmosphere (water vapor) Streams/rivers Ponds/lakes Groundwater Glaciers and icebergs

Groundwater

Makes up 25% of freshwater Found underground If water fills all the spaces in the rock-saturated zone Permeable-water can pass easily through spaces in rocks Impermeable-water cannot pass through the rocks spaces Acquifer- a permeable layer of rock that is saturated with water

Weathering and Erosion

Erosion-the process that wears down and
carries away rock and soil Weathering-process where rocks are chemically altered or physically broken down into fragments

Erosion
Ways that erosion can
take place
Gravity Movement of streams Groundwater Glaciers Wind Waves

Cliff eroded

Glacier erosion feature

Groundwater eroding land

Gravitys effect

Waves eroding base Of cliff

Wind erosion

Types of Weathering -Mechanical

Mechanical weathering- physically
breaking down rocks through
Frost wedging- ice expands and cracks rocks Abrasion- when rocks scrape or grind against each other Growth of plant roots- gets in between rocks and cracks them

Wind eroding a hole through a structure

Water gets into the spaces in a rock, expands while it freezes and cuts through a rock

Types of Weathering -Chemical

Chemical weathering-chemical reactions
dissolve the minerals in a rock or change them into new minerals Water is the main agent of chemical weathering

Chemical eroding of ancient buildings