The Movement of Water

• Evaporation


  The change of water into gas.
• Precipitation


  Water transferred back to the land as rain, hail, sleet and snow.
• Condensation


  Water vapor cools and condenses back into liquid. It makes small droplets which forms as clouds.
• Surface run-off


  The movement of water over the ground.
• Groundwater flow


  Water moving through the ground
• Infiltration


  Water moving from the surface to the soil
• Percolation


  Movement of water through rock
• Groundwater storage


  Water stored in the spaces within a rock
• Interception


  Raindrops caught by vegetation before reaching the ground
• Transpiration


  When trees/leaves release moisture
• Evapotranspiration

  When moisture is evaporated off of trees.
• Throughfall


  When rain falls down a tree, moving from leaf to leaf
• Stemflow


  When water travels down the stem of a plant
• Throughflow


  When water travels through the upper layers of the soil
• Surface storage


  Water stored on the surface in Lochs, puddles
• Advection

  When wind moves cloud inland.