Hydrologic Cycle
Often called the water cycle, it is the vertical and horizontal transport of water in all its states between the earth, the atmosphere, and the seas.
Water Cycle
The vertical and horizontal transport of water in all its states between the earth, the atmosphere, and the seas.
Water
Refers to the chemical compound, H2O, as well as its liquid form. At atmospheric temperatures and pressures, it can exist in all three phases: solid (ice), liquid (water), and gaseous (water vapor). It is a vital, life-sustaining part of life on earth.
Atmosphere
The gaseous or air portion of the physical environment that encircles a planet. In the case of the earth, it is held more or less near the surface by the earth’s gravitational attraction. The divisions of the atmosphere include the troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere, the ionosphere, and the exosphere.
Ocean
The intercommunicating body of salt water occupying the depressions of the earth’s surface, or one of its major primary subdivisions, bounded by the continents, or the equator, and other imaginary lines. A sea is subdivision of an ocean.