Water cycle why is it important

Such an environment is conducive to wild fires, which are started mainly by lightning and can occur throughout the year, but typically emerge between October and April and are most prevalent during the Southern Hemisphere summer; they are part of the seasonal cycle in Australia. However, some years are worse than others, and the wild fire season was especially bad. It has been estimated that upwards of 46 million acres were burned, or roughly the size of the entire state of Washington.

In terms of area Tuesday, October 22, Rainfall was scarce across much of the country in the month of September, pushing the eastern and southern thirds of the country into drought conditions. Thursday, October 17, Accurate and reliable precipitation records are not only crucial to understanding trends and variability but also for water management resources and food security, ecological management, and weather, climate and hydrological forecasting.

Here we present a few highlights showcasing how GPM IMERG is helping a variety of end users make decisions that will benefit society for years to come. Monsoons: Wet, Dry, Repeat.

Thursday, June 23, Through NASA satellites and models we can see the monsoon patterns like never before. Leveled by. Friday, August 2, The water cycle describes how water is exchanged cycled through Earth's land, ocean, and atmosphere.

Water always exists in all three places, and in many forms—as lakes and rivers, glaciers and ice sheets, oceans and seas, underground aquifers, and vapor in the air and clouds.

The water cycle consists of three major processes: evaporation, condensation, and precipitation. Evaporation is the process of a liquid's surface changing to a gas. In the water cycle, liquid water in the ocean, lakes, or rivers evaporates and becomes water vapor. Water vapor surrounds us, as an important part of the air we breathe. Water vapor is also an important greenhouse gas. Greenhouse gases such as water vapor and carbon dioxide insulate the Earth and keep the planet warm enough to maintain life as we know it.

The water cycle's evaporation process is driven by the sun. As the sun interacts with liquid water on the surface of the ocean, the water becomes an invisible gas water vapor.

Evaporation is also influenced by wind , temperature , and the density of the body of water. Condensation is the process of a gas changing to a liquid. In the water cycle, water vapor in the atmosphere condenses and becomes liquid. Condensation can happen high in the atmosphere or at ground level. Clouds form as water vapor condenses, or becomes more concentrated dense. Water vapor condenses around tiny particles called cloud condensation nuclei CCN.

CCN can be specks of dust, salt, or pollutants. Clouds at ground level are called fog or mist. Like evaporation, condensation is also influenced by the sun. As water vapor cools, it reaches its saturation limit, or dew point. Air pressure is also an important influence on the dew point of an area. As was the case with evaporation and condensation, precipitation is also a process. Precipitation describes any liquid or solid water that falls to Earth as a result of condensation in the atmosphere.

Precipitation includes rain, snow, and hail. Fog is not precipitation. The water in fog does not condense sufficiently to precipitate, or liquefy and fall to Earth. Fog and mist are a part of the water cycle called suspensions: They are liquid water suspended in the atmosphere. Evaporation, condensation, and precipitation are important parts of the water cycle. However, they are not the only ones. Runoff , for instance, describes a variety of ways liquid water moves across land.

Snowmelt , for example, is an important type of runoff produced as snow or glaciers melt and form streams or pools. Transpiration is another important part of the water cycle. Transpiration is the process of water vapor being released from plants and soil. Explanation: The water cycle is important to all life on earth for many reasons.

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Of course, evaporation doesn't just happen over bodies of water -- it happens on land too. When the sun heats the ground, water is evaporated from the top layer of soil -- a process known as evapotranspiration. Likewise, any extra water that isn't used by plants and trees during photosynthesis is evaporated from its leaves in a process called transpiration. A similar process happens when water that's frozen in glaciers, ice, and snow converts directly into water vapor without first turning into a liquid.

Called sublimation , this happens when the air temperature is extremely low or when high pressure is applied. Now that water has vaporized, it is free to rise up into the atmosphere. The higher it rises, the more heat it loses and the more it cools off. Eventually, the water vapor particles cool so much that they condense and turn back into liquid water droplets.

When enough of these droplets collect, they form clouds. As winds move clouds around, clouds collide with other clouds and grow. From here, precipitating water can take one of several paths:. So that we can continue exploring the complete water cycle, let's assume option 2 -- that the water has fallen over land areas.

The precipitation that falls as snow over land accumulates, forming seasonal snowpack layers upon layers of snow that continually accumulates and becomes packed down. As spring arrives and temperatures warm, these large amounts of snow thaw and melt, leading to runoff and streamflow. Water also stays frozen and stored in ice caps and glaciers for thousands of years!

Both the water that melts from snow and that which falls on the land as rain flows over the surface of the earth and downhill, due to gravity's pull. This process is known as runoff.