Hydrologic Cycle
Water
Cycle of water movement from atmosphere to Earth by precipitation and its return to the atmosphere by interception, evaporation, runoff, infiltration, percolation, storage, and transpiration. The natural recycling process powered by the sun that causes water to evaporate into the atmosphere, condense and return to earth as precipitation.
The natural pathway water follows as it changes between liquid, solid, and gaseous states.
- — Service Hydrologist Reference Manual Glossary of Hydrologic Terms retrieved 2014-06-01
Weather
The description of the transport of water substance between the earth, the atmosphere, and the seas.
or
In hydrologic terms, the natural pathway water follows as it changes between liquid, solid, and gaseous states.
Climate Change
The process of evaporation, vertical and horizontal transport of vapor, condensation, precipitation, and the flow of water from continents to oceans. It is a major factor in determining climate through its influence on surface vegetation, the clouds, snow and ice, and soil moisture. The hydrologic cycle is responsible for 25 to 30 percent of the mid-latitudes' heat transport from the equatorial to polar regions.