The Water Cycle (Cambridge International IGCSE Environmental Management)

Water cycle stores

• Water is constantly recycled through the water cycle
• The water cycle includes stores and transfers

The stores and transfers of the hydrological cycle

Stores of the water cycle

• Stores are those places where water is held for a period of time

• Stores of the water cycle include:

  • The atmosphere where water is stored in the form of water vapour or as water droplets in clouds
  • Surface stores such as puddles, lakes, rivers and reservoirs
  • Aquifers, which are permeable rocks such as limestone and sandstone which can hold water (known as groundwater)
  • Ice and snow (including ice sheets and glaciers)
  • Seas and oceans (salt water)

Water cycle transfers

• Transfers are how water is moved around the water cycle

Transfers of the water cycle

• Transfers include:

  • Precipitation is the transfer of water from the atmosphere to the Earth's surface in the form of hail, sleet, rain or snow

  • Interception is how precipitation is prevented from reaching the ground, usually by being caught on leaves or branches

    • Some of the water will be stored on the leaves and evaporate into the atmosphere
    • The remaining water will flow down the leaves, branches and trunk until it reaches the ground (stemflow)

  • Surface run-off (also known as overland flow) is any water flowing across the Earth's surface

  • Infiltration is when water is transferred from the surface into the soil

  • Percolation is the transfer of water through the soil down into the rock

  • Throughflow occurs when water is transferred through the soil between the surface and the water table

  • Groundwater flow is the transfer of water through rocks

  • Transpiration occurs when plants release water vapour from their leaves

    • This process transfers water from the plants into the atmosphere

  • Evaporation is the change of water from a liquid to a gas (water vapour) due to heat from the sun

    • This process transfers water from the surface up into the atmosphere
    • Higher temperatures and strong winds lead to increased evaporation

  • Condensation occurs when water cools and changes from water vapour into a liquid (water droplets)

    • Condensation leads to the formation of clouds

Exam Hint Try sketching the water cycle from memory. Remember to use colours and add a key to display stores and transfers.