The Water Cycle

• The world's largest water store:


  The Ocean (97%)
• Water stores include:

  • Cryosphere (2%)
  • Groundwater (1%)
  • Atmosphere + biosphere (1%)
• Residence time is...


  How much time water is likely to remain in a store before moving somewhere else.
• The biggest input into the water cycle is...


  Precipitation
• The biggest outputs into the water cycle are...

  • evaporation
  • transpiration
• What describes the rate of flow?


  Fluxes
• What is the effect of solar energy on the water cycle?


  It can increase/decrease the movement of water through the cycle. eg. warm water -> ice caps melt -> speed up flow of water from cryosphere to rivers/lakes.
• What is the global budget of potable water?


  2.5%
• Where is potable water found?

  • cryosphere (69%)
  • groundwater (30%)