1answer.
Ask question
Login Signup
Ask question
All categories
  • English
  • Mathematics
  • Social Studies
  • Business
  • History
  • Health
  • Geography
  • Biology
  • Physics
  • Chemistry
  • Computers and Technology
  • Arts
  • World Languages
  • Spanish
  • French
  • German
  • Advanced Placement (AP)
  • SAT
  • Medicine
  • Law
  • Engineering
UNO [17]
3 years ago
10

What maintains the water cycle?

Biology
1 answer:
Rina8888 [55]3 years ago
8 0

70% of the Earth’s surface is covered by oceans. It is the only inner planet where all three phases of water (liquid, ice, and vapor) coexist. The movement of water in its different forms, and the perpetual water phase changes are essential ingredients of the planetary water cycle (also known as the hydrological cycle). Precipitation is a major component of the water cycle, and is responsible for most of the fresh water on the planet. It occurs when water vapor levels in the atmosphere reach saturation upon which water vapor condenses or deposits on small particles called condensation/ice nuclei to form clouds consisting of suspended liquid or ice particles or a mixture of both. Under appropriate conditions larger liquid and ice particles form that fall to the surface as precipitation due to gravity. Precipitation is associated with a vast range of weather events: tropical cyclones, thunderstorms, frontal systems, drizzle, snowfall, etc.

The driving force of precipitation and the water cycle in general is the solar energy from the Sun. Earth maintains a delicate balance of radiative energy by reflecting approximately one third of the incoming solar radiation, and emitting the remaining two-thirds that are absorbed as infrared radiation back to space. At the Earth’s surface and within the atmosphere, the energy balance is more complex than for the planet as a whole. In fact, neither the surface nor atmosphere can achieve radiative energy balance by themselves without the critical involvement of water. The surface absorbs more solar radiation than is lost by net emission of infrared radiation, with the excess energy transferred to the atmosphere mostly in the form of latent heat – the energy required to evaporate surface water and then released to the atmosphere when cloud formation and precipitation occurs. The water in the atmosphere, whether in vapor, liquid or ice form, further affects atmospheric radiation and heating or cooling. Thus, the cycling of water between its different phases, and its transport across the globe (i.e., between the surface and atmosphere, the ocean and land, and from the tropics to the poles and back), are all intricately connected and responsible for the water cycle of the Earth.

The physical processes governing the water and energy cycles are extremely complicated, involving scales ranging from the planetary to the microscopic. Any alterations in atmospheric gaseous composition (water vapor, carbon dioxide, ozone, etc.), particulates (desert dust, smoke, urban smog, etc), or clouds (coverage and brightness) can disturb the radiative heat balance and result in chain reactions in the hydrological cycle. It is very important for the climate community to not only closely monitor the regional and global water budget, but to also understand changes in frequency of occurrence and strength of individual weather events. This is especially true of extreme weather events, which have great societal and economic impacts. Whether we will have more or more intense tropical storms, mega-snow events, or dust-bowls in the near or far future climate is one of the key focus areas of climate research.

Scientists in the Climate and Radiation Lab make synergistic use of satellite and ground based observations of precipitation and clouds to understand the characteristics and interactions of various components of the water cycle and to detect possible trends and variability that may be linked to climate forcing. Recent efforts along these lines include studies of tropical rainfall variability from TRMM, weekly cycle of precipitation and storm activity due to modulation by pollution aerosols, and of recent trends in North Pacific and Atlantic precipitation from tropical cyclones. Numerical simulations from high-resolution cloud resolving models, medium range weather research forecast models and fully-coupled land-ocean-atmosphere climate models are used in conjunction with observations to understand physical processes that modulate weather, climate and extreme events and their future projections. For example, CRL investigators have recently analyzed the precipitation projections of coupled global models used for the next IPCC report under increased carbon dioxide emission scenarios and found circulation and moisture variability changes large enough to induce more frequent drought and flood episodes in certain regions of the planet. Lab scientists are also involved in satellite-based remote sensing of precipitation which is expected to make a big leap forward with the Global Precipitation Measurement (GPM) mission, an international constellation of satellites that provide the next-generation global observations of rain and snow. The centerpiece of the mission, the GPM Core Observatory expected to launch in 2014 carries two advanced space-borne sensors, a microwave imager and a precipitation radar which are capable of providing more complete insight into the nature of precipitation processes.

You might be interested in
Which substance is a product of cellular respiration?
CaHeK987 [17]

Answer:

The main products of cellular respiration are CO2, H2O, and chemical energy/heat.

Explanation:

Here is the equation for cellular respiration:

C6H12O6 + 6O2 --> 6CO2 + 6H2O + heat

6 0
2 years ago
In the picture below the purple circles represent salt molecules. Which way would
stira [4]
Left to right away from the higher concentration of salt. Fluids try to be in balance, with equal distribution of what’s dissolved in them.
8 0
3 years ago
Do thinner sediment layers on the ocean floor mean the seafloor is older or younger in those areas?
marshall27 [118]

probably younger.----less sediment would mean less time.

3 0
3 years ago
Which disorder, diagnosed in the 1800s, was believed to be caused by a woman experiencing "wandering movements of the womb"?
HACTEHA [7]
A 2nd-century hysteria was caused by the belief that the uterus could move freely within the body in search of fluid and cause specific symptoms depending on the areas the uterus was displaced to. Called the wandering womb disorder, the womb was believed to be a living thing within a living thing.
6 0
3 years ago
why is important to use an organism with a recessive phenotype in a cross with an organism of unknown Genotype
bogdanovich [222]

Answer:

One of the central conclusions Mendel reached after studying and breeding multiple generations of pea plants was the idea that "[you cannot] draw from the external resemblances [any] conclusions as to [the plants'] internal nature." Today, scientists use the word "phenotype" to refer to what Mendel termed an organism's "external resemblance," and the word "genotype" to refer to what Mendel termed an organism's "internal nature." Thus, to restate Mendel's conclusion in modern terms, an organism's genotype cannot be inferred by simply observing its phenotype. Indeed, Mendel's experiments revealed that phenotypes could be hidden in one generation, only to reemerge in subsequent generations. Mendel thus wondered how organisms preserved the "elementen" (or hereditary material) associated with these traits in the intervening generation, when the traits were hidden from view.

3 0
3 years ago
Other questions:
  • If the mass of a material is 43 grams and the volume of the material is 11 cm 3, what would the density of the material be?
    15·1 answer
  • ANSWER IN THE NEXT 5 MIN CORRECTLY. I GIVE BRAINLIEST AND I FOLLOW PEOPLE WHO ANSWER ME CORRECTLY
    6·2 answers
  • The ionosphere is
    5·2 answers
  • Which two statements correctly define the process shown in the diagram? low concentration molecule bansport Droten high concentr
    8·1 answer
  • In the water cycle shown above, the two processes that involve water entering the atmosphere are: a. Evaporation and transpirati
    6·1 answer
  • Rhizobium A. fix nitrogen inside nodules on the roots of legumes.B. resemble fungi.C. produce antibiotics.D. produce a gall in p
    8·1 answer
  • Lead released into the environment makes its way into the air, soils, and water and can remain in the environment as dust, indef
    5·1 answer
  • A new discovery is peer-reviewed by other scientists. The scientists asked many
    13·1 answer
  • Which form of cell division results in an enlarged germ cell pool?.
    10·1 answer
  • which of the following lacks sufficient penetrating power for bulk sterilization? a. ultraviolet (uv) radiation at 260 nm.b. x r
    15·1 answer
Add answer
Login
Not registered? Fast signup
Signup
Login Signup
Ask question!