Do you know the water cycle? This component, so important for the maintenance of life on Earth, undergoes a process of constant transformation, passing from one state to another. It can be found in the forms:
And to reach these states, it undergoes changes that you may have heard about in your school time, in science and chemistry classes. They are:
It is these processes that make up the hydrological cycle. But why is it important to know this?
These water passages allow it to circulate through the environment and be used in the most diverse ways, promoting the balance of ecosystems and their own maintenance. In addition, the water cycle is a determinant of climate variation and influences the level of seas, rivers, and oceans.
Read on and learn more about each of the transformation steps of this resource!
Water, as seen earlier, can be found in different states. The passage from one to the other is precisely what characterizes the hydrological cycle. This constant movement of the resource occurs with the aid of the Sun and gravity.
The main stages of the water cycle are:
This is the first stage of the water cycle. In it, the resource goes out of a liquid state into a gaseous state. In nature, this process occurs slowly and gradually and is especially influenced by temperature and solar irradiation.
In general, the higher the temperature, the faster the evaporation.
After evaporating and reaching a gaseous state, this water vapor reaches the atmosphere to begin the second stage of the water cycle: condensation. This is how the mineral will return to its liquid form.
In this process, clouds form. The suspended water droplets come together little by little with each other, so they get bigger and heavier and then return to the Earth's surface as rain.
Remember that it is in condensation that clouds form? In the precipitation, those water droplets that came together will now return to Earth. That is, this is the time for the release of rain.
Rain always falls somewhere, right? Whether on the Earth's surface, in rivers or seas. But the infiltration stage concerns its absorption by the soil. This is because it is from this process that groundwater, aquifers, and other groundwater sources are formed.
The water that is absorbed by the soil, in addition to contributing to the formation of natural “reserves” of this liquid, also acts to irrigate plants through their roots. The excess of it is released precisely during the perspiration phase.
Transpiration, like evaporation, is the transformation of liquid water into vapor.
Remember that evaporation is the passage of water in its liquid state to its gaseous state? Here, in the sublimation phase, the water leaves the solid state into the gaseous state — it passes directly from ice to vapor.
This process may not be as noticeable in everyday life, but it is quite common in glaciers at the North Pole, for example.
As with evaporation, the water vapor produced in this step is transferred to the atmosphere.
And why is knowing the water cycle important? Today, this resource is not only indispensable for the maintenance of life on Earth, but it is also an essential component for carrying out a series of activities in the modern world, whether industrial, agricultural or commercial.
Not to mention everyday tasks, such as washing hands, bathing, brushing teeth, cooking, and others, which, without access to treated water, become impossible and even dangerous to health.
However, this is a threatened resource. Although planet Earth is known for its abundance of water, only a small part of it can be used for human consumption. About 97% of this input is found in the seas and oceans, with only 3% of fresh water remaining, of which 2.5% is found in glaciers.
And it doesn't stop there. This simple percentage of water has still been strongly affected by human actions, such as pollution and processes of urbanization and industrialization, which warns of the need for civilians, governments, and companies to ensure measures aimed at improving water and preserving it, including paying attention to the water cycle.
After all, this process is fundamental to the maintenance of this resource on the planet. In addition, as you may have noticed, each hydrological stage directly influences nature's balance. For example, water transformations interfere with:
Did you just see how important this cycle is? Now that you are well aware of this process, how about starting to learn how to contribute to its preservation? Continue the blog and see what sustainable water management is and some examples of how to put it into practice.
