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The water cycle is essential to life on Earth and plays a large role in the global climate system and ocean circulation. The warming of our planet is expected to be accompanied by changes in the water cycle for various reasons. [24] For example, a warmer atmosphere can contain more water vapor which has effects on evaporation and rainfall.
A similar concept applies to liquid–gas phase changes. [7] Water is an exception which has a solid-liquid boundary with negative slope so that the melting point decreases with pressure. This occurs because ice (solid water) is less dense than liquid water, as shown by the fact that ice floats on water.
In physics, chemistry, and other related fields like biology, a phase transition (or phase change) is the physical process of transition between one state of a medium and another. Commonly the term is used to refer to changes among the basic states of matter : solid , liquid , and gas , and in rare cases, plasma .
Condensation is the change of the state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization. The word most often refers to the water cycle . [ 1 ] It can also be defined as the change in the state of water vapor to liquid water when in contact with a liquid or solid surface or cloud condensation nuclei within ...
Since liquid water flows, ocean waters cycle and flow in currents around the world. Since water easily changes phase, it can be carried into the atmosphere as water vapour or frozen as an iceberg. It can then precipitate or melt to become liquid water again. All marine life is immersed in water, the matrix and womb of life itself. [7]
The scientific understanding of the likelihood of such abrupt changes to the water cycle is not yet clear. [7]: 1151 Sudden changes in the water cycle due to human activity are a possibility that cannot be ruled out, with current scientific knowledge. However, the likelihood that such changes will occur during the 21st century is currently ...
The water cycle is also essential for the maintenance of most life and ecosystems on the planet. Human actions are greatly affecting the water cycle. Activities such as deforestation, urbanization, and the extraction of groundwater are altering natural landscapes (land use changes) all have an effect on the water cycle. [3]: 1153 On top of this ...
where λE is the energy needed to change the phase of water from liquid to gas, R n is the net radiation, G is the soil heat flux and H is the sensible heat flux. Using instruments like a scintillometer , soil heat flux plates or radiation meters, the components of the energy balance can be calculated and the energy available for actual ...