Question

List five ways water is stored as it passes through the water cycle.

Answer 1

The water cycle has no starting point. But, we'll begin in the oceans, since that is where most of Earth's water exists. The sun, which drives the water cycle, heats water in the oceans. Some of it evaporates as vapor into the air. Ice and snow can sublimate directly into water vapor. Rising air currents take the vapor up into the atmosphere, along with water from evapo-transpiration, which is water transpired from plants and evaporated from the soil. The vapor rises into the air where cooler temperatures cause it to condense into clouds. Air currents move clouds around the globe, cloud particles collide, grow, and fall out of the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow and can accumulate as ice caps and glaciers, which can store frozen water for thousands of years. Snow packs in warmer climates often thaw and melt when spring arrives, and the melted water flows overland as snow melt. Most precipitation falls back into the oceans or onto land, where, due to gravity, the precipitation flows over the ground as surface runoff. A portion of runoff enters rivers in valleys in the landscape, with stream flow moving water towards the oceans. Runoff, and groundwater seepage, accumulate and are stored as freshwater in lakes. Not all runoff flows into rivers, though. Much of it soaks into the ground as infiltration. Some water infiltrates deep into the ground and replenishes aquifers (saturated subsurface rock), which store huge amounts of freshwater for long periods of time. Some infiltration stays close to the land surface and can seep back into surface-water bodies (and the ocean) as groundwater discharge, and some ground water finds openings in the land surface and emerges as freshwater springs. Over time, though, all of this water keeps moving, some to reenter the ocean, where the water cycle "ends" ... oops - I mean, where it "begins." Hope this helped!!

Answer 2

Answer:

During the water cycle, water can be stored in oceans, atmosphere, lakes, snow and underground.

Explanation:

The water cycle is the permanent process of transforming water in nature from one state to another (liquid, solid or gaseous). This cycle occurs as follows:

1. The heat radiated by the sun warms the water of rivers, lakes, seas and oceans occurring the phenomenon of evaporation. At this moment, the liquid state of water changes to its gaseous state as it moves from the Earth's surface to the atmosphere where it is stored as vapor.
2. Water vapor cools, accumulates in the atmosphere and condenses into droplets, which will form clouds or fogs. At this moment, the process of condensation occurs, that is, the transformation of the gaseous state of water to its liquid state, with the clouds, the droplets of liquid water suspended in the air.
3. With too much condensed water in the atmosphere, the Precipitation process begins, where droplets suspended in the air become heavy and fall to the ground in the form of rain. In very cold regions condensed water changes from gaseous to liquid state and rapidly to solid state, forming snow or hail. In this form water can be stored in oceans, lakes, streams or snow.
4. When the condensed water vapor falls on the earth's surface, a part of this water infiltrates the groundwater. In this form water can be stored underground.
5. Part of the water that has infiltrated the soil can be absorbed by plants that, after using it, return it to the atmosphere through the process of perspiration.