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What is a water cycle?

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Last updated date: 29th Jun 2024
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Answer
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Hint: Water is an inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and nearly colorless chemical substance that makes up the majority of the Earth's hydrosphere and all known living organisms' fluids. Even though it contains no calories or organic nutrients, it is necessary for all known forms of life.

Complete answer:
 The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic or hydrological cycle, is the continuous movement of water on, above, and beneath the Earth's surface.
Water changes state from one phase to another during this process, but the total number of water particles remains constant. In other words, even if 100 gms of water could be collected and boiled, it would still retain a mass of 100 gms as steam. Similarly, if 100 gms of steam is collected and condensed, the resulting water weighs the same amount.
The stages of water involve a variety of processes. The stages of the water cycle are listed below.
1. Evaporation
The sun is the ultimate source of energy, and it is responsible for the majority of evaporation on the planet. When water molecules on the surface of water bodies become excited and rise into the air, evaporation occurs. Water vapor clouds form when the molecules with the highest kinetic energy accumulate. Evaporation occurs when water is below its boiling point.

2. Sublimation
Sublimation is the transformation of snow or ice into water vapor without becoming water. Dry winds and low humidity are the most common causes. On mountain peaks, where the air pressure is very low, sublimation can be seen. Because less energy is used in the process of sublimating the snow into water vapor, the low air pressure aids the process.

3. Condensation
Due to the low temperatures found at high altitudes, the water vapor that has accumulated in the atmosphere eventually cools down. These vapors condense into tiny droplets of water and ice, which eventually condense into clouds.

4. Precipitation
The vapors condense into water droplets when the temperature rises above 0 degrees Celsius. It cannot, however, condense without the presence of dust or other impurities. As a result, water vapors adhere to the particle's surface. It falls out of the clouds and onto the ground below when enough droplets combine. Precipitation is the name for this process (or rainfall). When the weather is particularly cold or the air pressure, the water droplets freeze and fall as snow or hail.

5. Infiltration
Infiltration is the process by which rainwater is absorbed into the ground. The amount of absorption varies depending on the material into which the water has seeped. Rocks, for example, will retain significantly less water than soil. Streams and rivers can both carry groundwater. However, it may simply sink deeper, forming aquifers.

6. Runoff
If rainfall does not form aquifers, it falls victim to gravity and flows down the sides of mountains and hills, eventually forming rivers. Runoff is the term for this process. When the amount of snowfall exceeds the rate of evaporation or sublimation in colder regions, icecaps form. The poles are home to the world's largest ice caps.
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All of the preceding steps occur cyclically, with no fixed beginning or end.

Note:
The climate is greatly influenced by the water cycle. The greenhouse effect, for example, will result in a temperature rise. The temperature on Earth would rise dramatically if the water cycle's evaporative cooling effect was not present. Other biogeochemical cycles are influenced by the water cycle. The water cycle has an impact on all life processes on the planet.