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imagine a water molecule that is part of a groundwater system in an area of gent

ID: 1515355 • Letter: I

Question

imagine a water molecule that is part of a groundwater system in an area of gently rolling hills in the eastern United States. Describe some possible paths the molecule might take through the hydrologic cycle if: it were pumped from the ground to irrigate a farm fieldimagine a water molecule that is part of a groundwater system in an area of gently rolling hills in the eastern United States. Describe some possible paths the molecule might take through the hydrologic cycle if: it were pumped from the ground to irrigate a farm field

Explanation / Answer

The Hydrologic Cycle involves the continuous circulation of water in the Earth-atmosphere system. Of the many processes involved in the hydrologic cycle, the most important are
* evaporation,
* transpiration,
* condensation,
* precipitation, and
* runoff
Water evaporates from the surface of the ocean. It accumulates in clouds which are blown over land by a storm. It falls as rain and condenses out of mist and fog onto various surfaces. It enters the soil, ponds, lakes & rivers. Some of it falls as snow in the mountains. As the snow pack melts that water also begins to move downhill into the soil and streams. When rain lands on an impenetrable surface, link concrete or ashphalt it runs off. When water finds it's way into the soil it can be taken up by plant roots where it moves into the leaves and evaporates through the stomata. A process called transpiration