The Global Water Cycle Overview

What is the largest store of freshwater on Earth?

What defines the boundary of a drainage basin?

Which process describes the downward movement of water through soil and rock layers?

What are the main inputs to the drainage basin system?

What type of system does the global water cycle represent?

Which output does not belong to the drainage basin system?

What is considered a positive feedback mechanism in the water cycle?

Which process is characterized by water that flows over the land surface when the ground is saturated?

Which activity does not typically alter the natural water cycle?

What term describes the loss of water from plants through small pores in their leaves?

The Global Water Cycle

A system is a set of interconnected components working together.
The global water cycle is a closed system.
The atmosphere, cryosphere, and hydrosphere are the main water stores.
The cryosphere (glaciers and ice caps) holds the largest freshwater store.
A drainage basin is the land area drained by a river and its tributaries.
The boundary of a drainage basin is called a watershed.
Precipitation is a primary input into a drainage basin.
Outputs include evaporation, transpiration, and river discharge.
The water table is the upper level of saturated ground.
Infiltration is water entering the soil.
Percolation is the downward movement of water through soil and rock.
Throughflow is the lateral movement of water within the soil.
Groundwater flow is the slow movement of water through permeable rock.
Surface runoff is water flowing over land when the ground is saturated or impermeable.
Transpiration is water loss from plants through pores in leaves.
Evaporation is water loss from surfaces; evapotranspiration includes water from plants.
Interception is water caught by vegetation before reaching the ground.
Melting ice triggering further ice melt is a positive feedback.
Deforestation is a human activity altering the water cycle.
Urbanization increases surface runoff and reduces infiltration.

Explore the interconnected components of the global water cycle through this quiz. Discover how different water stores, such as the atmosphere and cryosphere, function within this closed system. Understand key concepts like drainage basins, watersheds, and the various water movements through the environment.