The Hydrologic Cycle

Paper Summary:

This paper explains that the hydrologic cycle is the term used to describe the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-atmosphere system. The paper then looks at how the most important processes that drive the hydrologic cycle are evaporation, transpiration, condensation, precipitation and runoff. The paper concludes that the extent to which people come to recognize the importance of water and the hydrologic cycle that drives it, will likely be the extent to which current and future conservation efforts will be successful.

Outline:
Introduction
Review and Discussion
Background and Overview.
Hydrologic Processes.
Conclusion

From the Paper:

"While the hydrologic cycle keeps things continually changing, some things remain relatively the same. For example, Fisher (2001) points out that even with all of this movement of water around the planet, everything tends to end up right back where it started when all is said and done. "In the Water Cycle game," he says, "fair or not, the oceans have and keep almost all the wealth. The total of all the fresh (that is, not salty) water on land, including lakes, rivers, streams, ponds, puddles, bathtubs, kitchen sinks, and all the water under the ground, comes to only 2.4% of Earth's water. The atmosphere contains the rest, only .001% (that's 1/100,000th), in the form of water vapor and clouds" (Fisher, 2001, p. 14). In fact, this author emphasizes that it is this infinitesimal percentage of the water that is suspended in the Earth's atmosphere at any given point time is what keeps the whole system operating."

Sample of Sources Used:

• Condensation. (2006). Wikipedia. Retrieved June 14, 2006, from http://en.wikipedia. org/wiki/Condensation.
• Fisher, D. (2001). Water works on the blue planet. The Technology Teacher, 61(1), 14.
• hydrologic cycle. (2006). In Encyclopaedia Britannica. Retrieved June 14, 2006, from Encyclopaedia Britannica Premium Service: http://www.britannica.com/eb/article- 9041738.
• Linsky, R. B. (2001). Mother Nature's machine. Forum for Applied Research and Public Policy, 16(1), 29.

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