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Hydrologic Cycle

URL: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html
ncs-NSDL-COLLECTION-000-003-112-021|dlese.org|ncs-NSDL-COLLECTION-000-003-112-012|1007936
Hydrologic Cycle: USGS summary of the water cycle complete with diagrams, pictures and text. This is an excellent resource from the Geological Survey, that is great for students and can be included in the classroom along with lessons.

Summary

Subject keyword(s)Astronomy, Atmospheric science, Climate, Clouds, Cryology, Cycles, Earth's water, Earth and space science, Earth materials, Earth science, Ecology, Forestry and Agriculture, Freshwater, Geoscience, Hydrology, Meteorology, Oceans, Physical sciences, Precipitation, Science, Science -- Geology, Space Science, Space sciences, Water, Water cycle, Weather
Grade levelElementary School, Middle School, High School, Informal Education, Vocational/Professional Development Education
Intended audienceEducator, Learner
Resource typeAudio/Visual, Collection, Instructional Material, Reference Material, Text
Resource formattext, text/html
RightsInformation presented on this website is considered public information (unless otherwise noted) and may be distributed or copied. Use of appropriate byline/photo/image credit is requested. We strongly recommend that USGS (United States Geological Survey) data be acquired directly from a USGS server and not through other sources that may change the data in some way. While USGS makes every effort to provide accurate and complete information, various data such as names, telephone numbers, etc. may change prior to updating. USGS welcomes suggestions on how to improve our home page and correct errors. USGS provides no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability or completeness of furnished data.
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AMSER: Applied Math and Science Education RepositoryDLESE: Digital Library for Earth System EducationScience RefreshMSP2: Math and Science PathwaysChoosing and Using DLESE

Content contained within the resource

USGS Home Contact USGS Search USGS The Water Cycle - Water Science for Schools Search Links Glossary Site map Help Contact  Home  Water basics   Earth's water   Water properties   Water cycle   Special topics   Water use   Activity center   Q&A   Photos    Random page  Back to previous page Water Cycle Pages Water-cycle home page Summary explanations: Complete summary Quick summary Follow a drop The water cycle in 60 languages Images (screen): Water-cycle diagram Water-cycle for kids Images (print): Page-size diagram 11x17 inch diagram Water-cycle for kids Opinion survey: Where does the water cycle begin? Teachers: Diagram without text Diagram to place the terms 2nd graders' water cycle The Water Cycle ... Choose a language English:   Quick summary   Complete summary Afrikaans Albanian Amharic Arabic:   Diagram | Summary Bahasa Bengali Bulgarian Burmese Catalan Chinese: Diagram | Summary         Water-Science Center Croatian Czech:  Diagram | Summary Danish:  Diagram | Summary Dutch Estonian:  Diagram | Summary Farsi:  Diagram | Summary Finnish French: Diagram | Summary Georgian German Greek:  Diagram | Summary Hebrew Hiligaynon Hindi Hungarian Icelandic Italian: Diagram | Summary Japanese: Diagram | Summary Kannada Khmer Korean Kyrgyz Lao Latvian Lithuanian Macedonian: Diagram | Summary Malay: Diagram | Summary Malayalam Mongolian Nepali Northern Sotho Norwegian: Diagram | Summary Polish Portuguese Punjabi Pushto Romanian Russian Serbian Sindhi Slovak Slovene Spanish: Diagram | Summary Swahili Swedish Tajik Tamil Telugu Thai Tsonga Turkish Ukrainian Urdu Uzbek Vietnamese Wolof Zulu The Water Cycle Earth's water is always in movement, and the natural water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above, and below the surface of the Earth. Water is always changes states between liquid, vapor, and ice, with these processes happening in the blink of an eye and over millions of years. Atmosphere · Condensation · Evaporation · Evapotranspiration · Freshwater storage Groundwater discharge · Groundwater storage · Ice and snow · Infiltration · Oceans Precipitation · Runoff · Snowmelt · Springs · Streamflow · Sublimation Global water distribution For an estimated explanation of where Earth's water exists, look at the chart below. By now, you know that the water cycle describes the movement of Earth's water, so realize that the chart and table below represent the presence of Earth's water at a single point in time. If you check back in a thousand or million years, no doubt these numbers will be different! Notice how of the world's total water supply of about 332.5 million cubic miles of water, over 96 percent is saline. And, of the total freshwater, over 68 percent is locked up in ice and glaciers. Another 30 percent of freshwater is in the ground. Fresh surface-water sources, such as rivers and lakes, only constitute about 22,300 cubic miles (93,100 cubic kilometers), which is about 1/150th of one percent of total water. Yet, rivers and lakes are the sources of most of the water people use everyday. Source: Igor Shiklomanov's chapter "World fresh water resources" in Peter H. Gleick (editor), 1993, Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources (Oxford University Press, New York). Where is Earth's water? For a detailed explanation of where Earth's water is, look at the data table below. Notice how of the world's total water supply of about 333 million cubic miles (1,386 million cubic kilometers) of water, over 96 percent is saline. And, of the total freshwater, over 68 percent is locked up in ice and glaciers. Another 30 percent of freshwater is in the ground. Thus, rivers and lakes that supply surface water for human uses only constitute about 22,300 cubic miles (93,100 cubic kilometers), which is about 0.007 percent of total water, yet rivers are the source of most of the water people use. One Estimate of Global Water Distribution (Numbers are rounded) Water source Water volume, in cubic miles Water volume, in cubic kilometers Percent of freshwater Percent of total water Oceans, Seas, & Bays 321,000,000 1,338,000,000 -- 96.5 Ice caps, Glaciers, & Permanent Snow 5,773,000 24,064,000 68.6 1.74 Groundwater 5,614,000 23,400,000 -- 1.7     Fresh 2,526,000 10,530,000 30.1 0.76     Saline 3,088,000 12,870,000 -- 0.93 Soil Moisture 3,959 16,500 0.05 0.001 Ground Ice & Permafrost 71,970 300,000 0.86 0.022 Lakes 42,320 176,400 -- 0.013     Fresh 21,830 91,000 0.26 0.007     Saline 20,490 85,400 -- 0.007 Atmosphere 3,095 12,900 0.04 0.001 Swamp Water 2,752 11,470 0.03 0.0008 Rivers 509 2,120 0.006 0.0002 Biological Water 269 1,120 0.003 0.0001 Source: Igor Shiklomanov's chapter "World fresh water resources" in Peter H. Gleick (editor), 1993, Water in Crisis: A Guide to the World's Fresh Water Resources (Oxford University Press, New York). Accessibility FOIA Privacy Policies and Notices U.S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey URL: http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercycle.html Page Contact Information: Howard Perlman Page Last Modified: Tuesday, 27-Dec-2011 19:15:30 EST