Water cycle: understand how it occurs in nature
The main forces that give rise to the water cycle, also called the hydrological cycle, are the sun's heat and gravity. Understand
The water cycle, or hydrological cycle, is the process by which water is transported around the planet. This transport takes place continuously and basically depends on the force of gravity and solar energy, which provide changes in the physical state of water.
water cycle
The energy of the sun is the great driver of the water cycle. By providing light and heat to planet Earth, solar energy heats and evaporates part of the water that is present on the surface of rivers, lakes, oceans, plant foliage and the bodies of people and animals.
Steam makes the air moist and this is less dense than dry air, so it rises, carrying the water molecules in the wind.
Water molecules are carried by winds to higher and farther places. At high altitudes, water molecules begin to clump together, forming droplets. These also gather more and more, forming clouds. Clouds remain in the sky until the droplets begin to become too heavy to sustain themselves in the atmosphere. Once they are too heavy, the drops start to fall and, depending on the weather conditions, they can fall as ice cubes (hail), crystals (snow) or as raindrops.
In the water cycle, rain falls into the sea and can also reach dry land. Upon reaching the permeable soil, part of the water that infiltrates is absorbed by plant roots. Another part of the water continues to seep into the ground, feeding the groundwater, from which we also collect water for our sustenance. To find out how to collect rainwater, take a look at the articles: "Rainwater collection: know the advantages and care necessary for using a cistern", "Cisterna: understand how it works and what are its benefits" and "Rainwater collection system practical, beautiful and economical rainwater".
Groundwater can surface on the surface and give rise to streams of water, streams and rivers, forming its path to reach the sea. When falling on cities and other soils with a reduced capacity to absorb water, it ends up running down the surface, potentially causing large floods and floods. But also feeding streams, streams and rivers.
All the time, everywhere, this movement repeats itself indefinitely, powered by the sun's energy, and is characterized as a hydrological cycle.
To see a summary of the water cycle, watch the video from the National Water Agency:
Hydrological cycle in detail
It is not known, for sure, where the water present on planet Earth came from. Some theories claim that water would have formed along with the Earth or inside it and was then expelled by volcanoes in vapor form over billions of years. But the most widely accepted explanation currently holds that comets and asteroids - which have water in their makeup - bombed our planet and left this element on its surface. The buildup set up over time and after a long sequence of these episodes.
Nearly 3/4 of the planet's surface is covered by water. Only 3% of the water on Earth is fresh. Of that 3%, 79% is in the form of ice. As far as we know, there is no other planet capable of storing liquid water in large quantities.
Understanding how the water cycle works is important for us to know how to make intelligent use of this natural resource.
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The water cycle is the most active cycle on the Earth's surface and the one most capable of changing the landscape, whether by modulating rocks, changing paths, etc. Earth movements cause some parts of the planet to receive more solar energy than others, which also influences the hydrological cycle.
The water that falls from the rain infiltrates and percolates (slow passage of a liquid through a medium) in the soil or rocks, which can form aquifers, re-emerge on the surface in the form of springs, springs, swamps, or feed rivers and lakes. But it can also seep through the surface, in cases where precipitation is greater than the soil's absorption capacity.
Water can either evaporate back into the atmosphere or freeze to form ice sheets on mountain ridges and glaciers.
Although we differentiate surface, underground and atmospheric water, it is important to point out that, in reality, water is only one, changing only its physical state. The water that precipitates in the form of rain, snow or hail, has been underground, in icebergs, passed through rivers, oceans and perhaps even inside our bodies.
When it comes to a "water crisis" or lack of water, it is in relation to its availability in its drinkable and liquid form, which can vary.
