How does water get back to the air?

How does water get back to the air?

Heat from the Sun causes water to evaporate from the surface of lakes and oceans. This turns the liquid water into water vapor in the atmosphere. Plants, too, help water get into the atmosphere through a process called transpiration! Water can also get into the atmosphere from snow and ice.

What are two processes that put liquid water into the air?

Two main processes are involved in increasing the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere. These two processes are known as evaporation, and transpiration. Evaporation is generally defined as the process by which water turns from a liquid back into a vapor or gas.

What are the 4 main processes of the water cycle?

There are four main stages in the water cycle. They are evaporation, condensation, precipitation and collection. Let’s look at each of these stages. Evaporation: This is when warmth from the sun causes water from oceans, lakes, streams, ice and soils to rise into the air and turn into water vapour (gas).

What are the three main phases of water cycle?

The water cycle is often taught as a simple circular cycle of evaporation, condensation, and precipitation.

What happens right before evaporation occurs?

Heat (energy) is necessary for evaporation to occur. Condensation, the opposite of evaporation, occurs when saturated air is cooled below the dew point (the temperature to which air must be cooled at a constant pressure for it to become fully saturated with water), such as on the outside of a glass of ice water.

What must happen before rain can fall?

For precipitation to happen, first tiny water droplets must condense on even tinier dust, salt, or smoke particles, which act as a nucleus. If enough collisions occur to produce a droplet with a fall velocity which exceeds the cloud updraft speed, then it will fall out of the cloud as precipitation.

What is the role of air in water cycle?

Air and the Water Cycle Air is important because it helps water move between these states in a process scientists call the water cycle. Heated by the sun, surface water evaporates into the air and becomes water vapor. Clouds return water to the ground in the form of rain, sleet or snow.

Where does water go when it evaporates?

Evaporation is the process by which water changes from a liquid to a gas or vapor. Evaporation is the primary pathway that water moves from the liquid state back into the water cycle as atmospheric water vapor.