Hydrological Cycle and Processes

What is a Hydrological Cycle? Basically it most popularly know as the Water Cycle and the most common sign of the water is in cycle is the rain. Have you ever wonder where all the water we use everyday comes from and why are rivers never seem to dry up?
The Water Cycle?


Generally the Water Cycle describes the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth. It describes the process by which the various forms of water move about the planet. The  cycle is like a circle or any other circular object, there is no beginning and there is no end and the water changes from liquid to solid as the process goes. The  whole cycle is a process where water, whatever form, goes from place to place, to ocean to cloud to river to rainwater and back again through a cycle of different processes.


The Different Processes


There are a total of eleven processes involved in the whole water cycle. Let us define them one by one:


Precipitation
         Condensed water vapor that fall to the Earth's surface and in the form of rain, hail, fog, drip, graupel and sleet.


Canopy Interception
        The precipitation that does not fall into the ground but actually intercepted by plant foliage and after sometime evaporates back into the atmosphere.


Runoff
        The process by which water moves across the land and it includes urface runoffs and channel runoffs. When the water flows it may infiltrate into the ground, evaporate into the air, run into rivers and reservoirs and or be gathered for human uses.


Snowmelt
        The runoff produced by the melting of snow.


Infiltration
         The groundwater and soil moisture comes from this process. The water  flows from the ground surface and infiltrates to the ground.


Subsurface Flow
        Is the flow of water underground. Under the force of gravity or induced pressures, the water returns to the land surface at lower elevations than where it infiltrated.


Evaporation
        Is the transformation of water from liquid to gas by means of solar radiation. When water from the bodies of water heats up it turn to gas and goes up to the atmosphere.


Sublimation
        Is the state change from solid(snow or ice) to gas or water vapor.


Advection
        Is the transformation of water into solid, liquid and in vapor state in the atmosphere. It's the driving force behind precipitation.


Condensation
        The transformation of water vapor to liquid water in the air, producing clouds and fog.


Evapotranspiration
        The release of water vapor from plants and soil into the air.