Atmospheric Processes• Atmospheric processes –

the interaction of Earth’s with land & water (oceans)• How much of Earth’s

surface is covered by water (oceans)?• Oceans exchange & transport heat & moisture in the

atmosphere

Atmospheric Processes – The Water (Hydrological) CycleEvaporation –

◦ The sun heats up water in rivers, lakes or the ocean ◦ Turns it into vapor or steam◦ Water vapor or steam leaves rivers, lakes, or oceans & goes into

the atmosphere

Transpiration – ◦ Plants lose water out of their leaves◦ Transpiration puts water vapor back up into the atmosphere.

So…you might ask…do plants sweat? Well, sort of.... people perspire (sweat) and plants transpire.

Condensation –◦ Water vapor in the atmosphere gets cold & changes back into

liquid, forming clouds, in the atmosphere

Atmospheric Processes – The Water (Hydrological) CyclePrecipitation –

◦ Water has condensed to the point that the air in the atmosphere cannot hold it anymore.

◦ Clouds get heavy & water falls back to the earth in the form of rain, hail, sleet or snow

Collection/Infiltration/Runoff –◦ Water falls back to earth from the atmosphere as precipitation◦ May fall into oceans, lakes or rivers or on land

“Collection”◦ On land, it will either soak into the earth or become part of the

groundwater that plants & animals use to drink “Infiltration”

◦ May run over the soil & collect in oceans, lakes or rivers where the cycle starts all over again “Runoff”

Q: The water you are drinking out of your water bottle may have come from:

A. Groundwater stored in the pores and spaces in the ground below you…also known as an “aquifer”.

B. Your great-grandmother’s spitC. Water evaporated from Tempe Town LakeD. All of the above

A: D. All of the above!

Atmospheric Processes – The Water (Hydrological) Cycle