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Hydrologic cycle is the water transfer cycle, which

occurs continuously in nature.
(also known as the water cycle) is the journey that
water takes as it circulates from the land to the sky
and back again.
 Describes the continuous movement of water on,
above and below the surface of the Earth. Although
the balance of water on Earth remains fairly constant
over time. ????

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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).

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Water Movement in the

Hydrological Cycle

Components of the Hydrologic Cycle

 Evapotranspiration: is water evaporating from the
ground/soil and transpiration by plants.
Evapotranspiration is also the way that water
vapour re-enters the atmosphere.
 Condensation: is the process of water changing
from a vapor to a liquid. Water vapor in the air rises
mostly by convection. This means that warm,
humid air will rise, while cooler air will flow
downward. As the warmer air rises, the water vapor
will lose energy, causing its temperature to drop.
The water vapor then has a change of state into
liquid or ice.

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 Precipitation: is water being released from clouds

as rain, sleet, snow or hail. Precipitation begins after
water vapor, which has condensed in the
atmosphere, becomes too heavy to remain in
atmospheric air currents and falls.
 Infiltration: when a portion of the precipitation that
reaches the Earth's surface seeps into the ground.
 Percolation: is the downward movement of water
through soil and rock. Percolation occurs beneath the
root zone.
 Runoff: is precipitation that reaches the surface of
the Earth but does not infiltrate the soil. Runoff can
also come from melted snow and ice.

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Effect of surface cover on land surface processes

Surface cover has a marked effect on hydrological
processes such as infiltration, evaporation and
surface runoff.
Forests in good condition promote high infiltration
rates and facilitate the recharge of ground water due
to soil structure.
In the case of vegetated surfaces, the total
evaporation comprises evaporation from the ground
surface and evaporation of intercepted and
transpired water.

The distribution of the total evaporation between

these three components depends on the nature of
the vegetation stand and its effect on the
distribution of energy and on the movement of water
vapour within the canopy (Table 1).
The influence of vegetation on runoff and on the
prevention of soil erosion is also important for the
hydrological cycle and hence indirectly for general
circulation models.

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Table 1: Distribution of components of evaporation

(% of total evaporation)

Evaporation from Evaporation of

Type of cover Transpiration
ground interception

Bare soil 100 — —

Cultivated 45 15 40

Meadow 25 25 50

Forest 10 30 60

Baumgartner (1967)