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Geology & Earth Sciences vocabulary · Water Cycle & Hydrology

Water cycle

Meaning in geology & earth sciences, with examples

nounCore term

In geology & earth sciences, water cycle means: The continuous movement of water between the oceans, the atmosphere and the land through evaporation, condensation, precipitation and runoff.

In Turkish: su döngüsü, hidrolojik döngü, hidrolojik çevrim

How it is used

Used from school science to university hydrology courses. Technical texts also call it the hydrological or hydrologic cycle. Students describe its stages and explain how water is stored in oceans, ice, groundwater and lakes.

Example sentences

  1. Groundwater is the slowest part of the water cycle.

  2. A warmer climate speeds up the water cycle.

Common collocations

  • the water cycle
  • hydrological cycle
  • stages of the water cycle
  • the global water cycle
  • evaporationThe process in which liquid water turns into water vapour and rises into the air, mainly from oceans, lakes, rivers and wet soil, driven by the Sun's heat.
  • precipitationWater that falls from clouds to the ground as rain, snow, sleet or hail. It is usually measured in millimetres per day, month or year.
  • runoffWater from rain or melting snow that flows over the ground surface into streams and rivers instead of soaking into the soil.
  • groundwaterWater held underground in the pores and cracks of soil, sediment and rock below the water table. It feeds wells and springs.

More terms: Water Cycle & Hydrology

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