The Water Cycle

The Water Cycle

The world we live in is a complex one; from the sun that pretty much makes the earth habitable to the water that supports life itself as we know it, understanding how all these essential processes work is vital. The paper will discuss the water cycle and how the process impacts the earth entirely.

One such important process is the water cycle; the water cycle is driven by the sun; the process starts with the sun heating the water in the seas and oceans, after which the water vaporizes into the air. Upon the rising of the water vapour, the cooling process starts. This causes the water vapour to condense and results in the formation of water droplets; this explains the clouds, which are the masses of the formed water droplets. Eventually, these water droplets, now called clouds in this state are too heavy to remain floating in the air, they come down in a process called precipitation. The diagram below further explains the water cycle.

Fig 1.1: The water cycle

The water cycle is a vital process for all life for various reasons. Every living thing requires water, as illustrated in the diagram above. Plants cannot grow without precipitation, and consequently, anything that depends on the plants for survival would not be present at all. Infiltration cleans the water we use and ice and snow act as storage for freshwater for all living organisms. Water runoff, on the other hand, causes the formation of rivers and other freshwater bodies in the process; it helps to maintain marine life. All these processes play a crucial role in creating our ecosystem as well as sustaining life, all thanks to the water cycle.