G5 Water Cycle & Earths Spheres Approaching – 01

Did you ever think about the water you drink? Do you wonder where it came from or how old is it? Maybe you just opened a new bottle of water? Perhaps you just filled your glass from the faucet? In both cases, you are drinking water that is very old. It’s true! Each drop of water in your glass or bottle could be billions of years old. How is that even possible? Simple! Water is recycled through a process called, the water cycle.

The majority of Earth’s surface is covered by water. It is found from the equator to the poles, in what is called, the hydrosphere. The hydrosphere holds all the waters on the earth’s surface, such as lakes and seas. Water can be found in in many forms, from ice to a gas. You have learned that water can change its form, or state, based on its temperature.

In colder regions, water can exist as ice. This ice may be in the form of glaciers on land or as frozen sea water. Frozen water on earth’s surface, is often associated with Earth’s cryosphere. The cryosphere includes all the water on Earth’s surface where water is in solid form. This collection of frozen water includes sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). It can get a little confusing as there is a wide overlap with the hydrosphere.