Water Cycle

The water cycle, also known as the hydrologic cycle or the H2O cycle, describes the continuous movement of water on, above and
below the surface of the Earth. The water moves from one reservoir to another, such as from river to ocean, or from the ocean to
the atmosphere, by the physical processes of evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration, runoff, and subsurface flow. In so
doing, the water goes through different phases: liquid, solid (ice), and gas (vapor).

The water cycle involves the exchange of energy, which leads to temperature changes. For instance, when water evaporates, it takes
up energy from its surroundings and cools the environment. When it condenses, it releases energy and warms the environment.
These heat exchanges influence climate. By transferring water from one reservoir to another, the water cycle purifies water,
replenishes the land with freshwater, and transports minerals to different parts of the globe. It is also involved in reshaping the
geological features of the Earth, through such processes as erosion and sedimentation. Finally, the water cycle figures significantly in
the maintenance of life and ecosystems.

The water cycle (known scientifically as the hydrologic cycle) refers to the continuous exchange of water within the hydrosphere,
between theatmosphere, soil water, surface water, groundwater, and plants.
Water moves perpetually through each of these regions in the water cycle consisting of following transfer processes:
 evaporation from oceans and other water bodies into the air and transpiration from land plants and animals into air.
 precipitation, from water vapor condensing from the air and falling to earth or ocean.
 runoff from the land usually reaching the sea.
Most water vapor over the oceans returns to the oceans, but winds carry water vapor over land at the same rate as runoff into the
sea, about 47 Tt per year. Over land, evaporation and transpiration contribute another 72 Tt per year. Precipitation, at a rate of 119
Tt per year over land, has several forms: most commonly rain, snow, and hail, with some contribution from fog and dew.[33] Dew is
small drops of water that are condensed when a high density of water vapor meets a cool surface. Dew usually form in the morning
when the temperature is the lowest, just before sunrise and when the temperature of the earth's surface starts to
increase.[34] Condensed water in the air may also refract sunlight to produce rainbows.
Water runoff often collects over watersheds flowing into rivers. A mathematical model used to simulate river or stream flow and
calculate water quality parameters is hydrological transport model. Some of water is diverted to irrigation for agriculture. Rivers and
seas offer opportunity for travel andcommerce. Through erosion, runoff shapes the environment creating
river valleys and deltas which provide rich soil and level ground for the establishment of population centers. A flood occurs when an
area of land, usually low-lying, is covered with water. It is when a river overflows its banks or flood from the sea. A drought is an
extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. This occurs when a region receives
consistently below average precipitation.

WATER:
Water is a chemical compound with the chemical formula H2O. A water molecule contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms
connected by covalent bonds. Water is a liquid at standard ambient temperature and pressure, but it often co-exists on Earth with
its solidstate, ice, and gaseous state (water vapor or steam). Water also exists in a liquid crystal state near hydrophilic surfaces.

Water on Earth moves continually through the water cycle of evaporation and transpiration (evapotranspiration), condensation,
precipitation, and runoff, usually reaching the sea. Evaporation and transpiration contribute to the precipitation over land.

WHY LIVING THINGS REQUIRE THIS CHEMICAL AND IN W (MAY KATULOY NGAY
ITO, NACUT NUNG NAG PICTURE)
Water is used as a solvent for just about every chemical reaction that occurs in living things. It is also used as a reactant in many
chemical reactions. Without water, living things couldn't carry out the chemical reactions they need to survive.

Living things such as plants need water to grow and produce flowers, fruits, vegetables, etc. Living things such as
humans need water to rehydrate and lubricate their bodies, skin, tissue, joints, and brain. We cannot function without it.

Without water, the Earth would look like the moon. There wouldn’t be any trees … or animals … or humans. All life
depends on water. Next to the air we breathe, water is our most essential element of life.
 The human body is about 70% water. Every system in our body uses water.
  Water makes up almost 80% of our brain.
 Water makes up 83% of our blood.
 Water makes up nearly 90% of our lungs.
 Water transports body wastes.
 Water lubricates body joints.
 Water keeps body temperature stable (think sweat!).
 Water aids in digestion (think spit!).

Human beings can live several weeks without food but only four to seven days without water, depending on
conditions. We must drink six to eight glasses of water each day to replace the water we lose from normal activity.
Some water loss is visible through sweat and excretion.
A person needs to drink enough water each day to replace the water lost through everyday activities and climate
conditions. Babies’ and kids’ bodies have a larger percentage of water than adults so they need to drink more water
proportionately to be hydrated.

All living things need water because if a plant has no water it's roots will die or get dry and the plant will not grow.
Animals need water to drink and also 70 % of the human body cells are water!!

Most if not all of our metabolic reactions require the presence of water. Also, water is a universal solvent so it is essential for
the cell. Entering (endocytosis) and exciting (exocytosis) generally require the presence of water hence, a solution.

PROCESSES BY WHICH WATER MOVES FROM ABIOTIC TO BIOTIC

- WALA NGAY AKONG MAHANAP DITO 

PROCESSES BY WHICH WATER MOVES FROM BIOTIC TO ABIOTIC

- HINDI KO NGAY ITO SURE. ITO KASI LUMALABAS E

1. Transpiration
Transpiration is the process of water movement through a plant and its evaporation from aerial parts especially
from leaves but also from stems andflowers. Leaf surfaces are dotted with pores which are called stomata, and in most plants
they are more numerous on the undersides of the foliage. The stomata are bordered by guard cells and their stomatal
accessory cells (together known as stomatal complex) that open and close the pore.[1]Transpiration occurs through the
stomatal apertures, and can be thought of as a necessary "cost" associated with the opening of the stomata to allow the
diffusion of carbon dioxide gas from the air for photosynthesis. Transpiration also cools plants, changes osmotic pressure of
cells, and enablesmass flow of mineral nutrients and water from roots to shoots.

2. Urination.
Urination, also known as micturition, voiding, tinkling, peeing, weeing, pissing, and more rarely, emiction, is the ejection
of urine from theurinary bladder through the urethra to the outside of the body. In healthy humans (and many other animals)
the process of urination is under voluntary control. In infants, some elderly individuals, and those with neurological injury,
urination may occur as an involuntary reflex. In other animals, in addition to expelling waste material, urination can mark
territory or express submissiveness. Physiologically, micturition involves coordination between thecentral, autonomic,
and somatic nervous systems. Brain centers that regulate urination include the pontine micturition center, periaqueductal
gray, and the cerebral cortex.[citation needed] In male placental mammals, urine is ejected through the penis.[1] In female
placental mammals (with some exceptions, including female galagos,[2] female spider monkeys,[3] and female spotted
hyenas,[2] which urinate through a pseudo-penis), urine is ejected through the vulva.

3. Perspiration
Perspiration (sweating, transpiration, or diaphoresis) is the production of fluids secreted by the sweat glands in
the skin of mammals.[1] Two types of sweat glands can be found in humans: Eccrine glands and apocrine glands. The eccrine
sweat glands are distributed over much of the body.
In humans, sweating is primarily a means of thermoregulation which is achieved by the water-rich secretion of the eccrine
glands. Maximum sweat rates of an adult can be up to 2-4 liters per hour or 10-14 liters per day (10-15
g/min•m²)[2][3][4] Evaporation of sweat from the skin surface has a cooling effect due to the evaporation of water. Hence,
 in hot weather, or when the individual's muscles heat up due to exertion, more sweat is produced. Animals with few sweat
glands, such as dogs, accomplish similar temperature regulation results by panting, which evaporates water from the moist
lining of the oral cavity and pharynx. Primates and horses have armpits that sweat like those of humans. Although sweating is
found in a wide variety of mammals,[5][6] relatively few, such as humans and horses, produce large amounts of sweat in order
to cool down.[7]
Sweat is not pure water; it always contains a small amount (0.2–1%) of solute. When a person moves from a cold climate to
a hot climate, adaptive changes occur in the sweating mechanisms of the person. This process is referred to
as acclimatisation: the maximum rate of sweating increases and its solute composition decreases. The volume of water lost in
sweat daily is highly variable, ranging from 100 to 8,000 mL/day. The solute loss can be as much as 350 mmol/day (or
90 mmol/day acclimatised) of sodium under the most extreme conditions. During average intensity exercise, sweat losses can
average up to 2 litres of water/hour. In a cool climate and in the absence of exercise, sodium loss can be very low (less than 5
mmols/day). Sodium concentration in sweat is 30-65 mmol/l, depending on the degree of acclimatisation.

4. Breathing
Breathing is the process that moves air in and out of the lungs or oxygen through other breathing organs such as
gills.[1] Aerobic organisms of these types—such as birds, mammals, and reptiles—require oxygen to release energy
via respiration, in the form of the metabolism of energy-rich moleculessuch as glucose. Breathing is only one process that
delivers oxygen to where it is needed in the body and removes carbon dioxide. Another important process involves the
movement of blood by the circulatory system. [2] Gas exchange occurs in the pulmonary alveoli by passive diffusion of gases
between the alveolar gas and the blood in lung capillaries. Once these dissolved gases are in the blood, the heart powers their
flow around the body (via the circulatory system). The medical term for normal relaxed breathing is eupnea.

ENVIRONMENT PROBLEMS ASSOCIATED WITH THE CHEMICAL

Environmental Problems Associated With Water Diversion
By Charly Mercer, eHow Contributor
Water diversion, the practice of changing the course of water bodies, is a common practice to create navigable
waterways, drain wetlands for development or extract water from a body of water. The practice, however, is highly
destructive to natural ecosystems. Even slight changes in an ecosystem can have significant cumulative effects on species
diversity and distribution, but changing the dynamics of a vital resource like water can have lasting and irreversible
effects on the environment.

1. Habitat Loss
Water diversion can contribute both to the loss of aquatic and wetland habitat and to interruptions in local water
cycles. Every ecosystem is adapted to the availability and conditions of vital resources like water, so that each
ecosystem has developed alongside specific conditions of water volume and cyclical wet and dry periods. Water
diversion changes these variables and can lead to major reductions in the quantity of water available in an
ecosystem. These losses reduce the amount of ground available for wetland organisms to live and the amount of
water flow in aquatic systems and can even change water cycles like the frequency of flooding, all of which have
major effects on habitat characteristics.

2. Habitat Fragmentation
Diverting water in a natural ecosystem can also have lasting effects on the spatial layout of an ecosystem.
Depending on the scale of the diversion project, a new course of flowing water can both divide the aquatic
ecosystems found in the original body of water and create physical barriers to land organisms. Large diversions can
create obstacles for land mammals that need to travel between mating and feeding grounds, but even minimal
diversions can affect insect distributions and seed dispersion systems for plants, potentially altering the entire food
chain in the ecosystem.

3. Loss of Biodiversity
Changes in the availability of habitat and the distribution of species due to destruction and physical obstacles tend
to have an overall negative impact on the amount of biodiversity in an ecosystem. As the habitat conditions in an
environment change and a vital resource becomes more scarce, fewer species of animals can survive and
reproduce in the area. The area may even be invaded by other species better adapted to dryer conditions or
 become dominated by the select organisms that can survive in the new conditions, both leading to an overall
reduction in the diversity of organisms in the area.

4. Pollution and Human Impacts

Water diversion reduces the overall amount of water available in a given body of water. This change also affects
the water body's capacity to absorb, dilute or process dangerous pollutants while preserving water quality. In many
cases, the reduction of water without a reduction of the contaminant stream into the body of water pushes the
ecosystem beyond its carrying capacity and leads to a severe deterioration of water quality for use by the
ecosystem and human uses like drinking or sanitation.

POSSIBLE SOLUTIONS TO THE PROBLEMS

Water
Clean and plentiful water provides the foundation for prosperous communities. We rely on clean water to survive, yet
right now we are heading towards a water crisis. Changing climate patterns are threatening lakes and rivers, and key
sources that we tap for drinking water are being overdrawn or tainted with pollution. NRDC experts are helping to
secure safe and sufficient water for people and the environment by:
 Promoting water efficiency strategies to help decrease the amount of water wasted;
 Protecting our water from pollution by defending the Clean Water Act and advocating for solutions like green
infrastructure;
 Helping prepare cities, counties and states for water-related challenges they will face as a result of climate change;
and
 Ensuring that waterways have enough water to support vibrant aquatic ecosystems.

Protecting Clean Water

Dirty water is the world's biggest health risk, and continues to threaten both quality of life and public health in the
United States. When water from rain and melting snow runs off roofs and roads into our rivers, it picks up toxic
chemicals, dirt, trash and disease-carrying organisms along the way. Many of our water resources also lack basic
protections, making them vulnerable to pollution from factory farms, industrial plants, and activities like fracking. This
can lead to drinking water contamination, habitat degradation and beach closures. NRDC is working to protect our water
from pollution by:
 Drawing on existing protections in the Clean Water Act, and working to ensure that the law's pollution control
programs apply to all important waterways, including headwater streams and wetlands, which provide drinking
water for 117 million Americans;
 Improving protections to reduce pollutants like bacteria and viruses, which threaten Americans' health and well
being; and
 Establishing new pollution limits for top problem areas, such as sources of runoff and sewage overflows.
Promoting Water Efficiency

Despite the many existing pressures on our water resources, there are cost-effective solutions that will allow us to
transform our relationship with water. To address increasing water scarcity in many places in the nation, NRDC is
working to promote investments and policies that increase water use efficiency and decrease water waste, such as:
 Adopting sensible standards for efficient appliances, buildings, and irrigation;
 Supporting cost-effective investments by utilities to help customers save water; and
 Improving pricing structures to save both water and money.

Water and Climate Change

From more severe and frequent droughts to unprecedented flooding, many of the most profound and immediate
impacts of climate change will relate to water. More than one-third of all counties in the lower 48 states will face higher
risks of water shortages by mid-century as a result of global warming. Other impacts will include sea level rise, saltwater
intrusion, harm to fisheries and more frequent and intense storm events. To help communities prepare, NRDC is
creating tools that help the public and government officials to better understand and anticipate the water-related
impacts of climate change at astate, county, and city level. We also promote ways to reduce wasted energyresulting
from inefficient water collection, treatment and distribution.

Preserving Water Ecosystems

Fish, birds and wildlife depend on clean water, just as people do. NRDC works to protect and restore important
waterways to ensure that there is enough water flowing to keep these ecosystems intact and functioning. In the San
Francisco Bay-Delta -- the largest estuary on the west coast -- we are stopping unsustainable water withdrawals that
threaten endangered fish species and their habitat through a range of litigation tools. We are also continuing to restore
water flows to California's second largest river, the San Joaquin River. Through implementation of the historic San
Joaquin River Restoration Settlement, an agreement won after 18 years of litigation brought by a coalition of
conservation and fishing groups, and led by NRDC, the settlement will restore water flows and reintroduce salmon to
the San Joaquin.