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The water cycle (or hydrologic cycle or hydrological cycle), is a biogeochemical cycle that involves the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. The mass of water on Earth remains fairly constant over time. However, the partitioning of the water into the major reservoirs of ice, fresh water, salt water and ...
Hydrosphere. The hydrosphere (from Ancient Greek ὕδωρ (húdōr) 'water' and σφαῖρα (sphaîra) 'sphere') [1][2] is the combined mass of water found on, under, and above the surface of a planet, minor planet, or natural satellite. Although Earth 's hydrosphere has been around for about 4 billion years, [3][4] it continues to change in ...
Definition. Evapotranspiration is defined as: "The combined processes through which water is transferred to the atmosphere from open water and ice surfaces, bare soil and vegetation that make up the Earth’s surface." [2]: 2908. Evapotranspiration is a combination of evaporation and transpiration, measured in order to better understand crop ...
A river is a natural flow of freshwater that flows on or through land towards another body of water downhill. [1] This flow can be into a lake, an ocean, or another river. [1] A stream refers to water that flows in a natural channel, a geographic feature that can contain flowing water. [2]
A geographic information system (GIS) consists of integrated computer hardware and software that store, manage, analyze, edit, output, and visualize geographic data. [1][2] Much of this often happens within a spatial database; however, this is not essential to meet the definition of a GIS. [1] In a broader sense, one may consider such a system ...
In physical geography and hydrology, a channel is a landform on which a relatively narrow body of water is situated, such as a river, river delta or strait. While channel typically refers to a natural formation, the cognate term canal denotes a similar artificial structure. Channels are important for the functionality of ports and other bodies ...
A drought is a period of drier-than-normal conditions. [1]: 1157 A drought can last for days, months or years. Drought often has large impacts on the ecosystems and agriculture of affected regions, and causes harm to the local economy. [2][3] Annual dry seasons in the tropics significantly increase the chances of a drought developing, with ...
Runoff is the flow of water across the earth, and is a major component in the hydrological cycle. Runoff that flows over land before reaching a watercourse is referred to as surface runoff or overland flow. Once in a watercourse, runoff is referred to as streamflow, channel runoff, or river runoff. Urban runoff is surface runoff created by ...