Rising air currents take water, as vapor, up into the atmosphere; with the water form of "evapotranspiration," which is water transpired or from plants and that has evaporated from the soil. The cooler temperatures in the atmosphere cause it to condense in the clouds, which float around in the air until they fall from the sky as precipitation. Some precipitation falls as snow and can accumulate as hail, where it can stay, as ice crystals, for thousands of years. In warmer climates, snow melts, then warmer spring and summer months, and that water flows into streams and rivers, which eventually return it to the ocean, or into the groundwater, which eventually reach underground purifiers. Over time, the water continues to flow, some to return to the ocean, where the water cycle renews itself.
It absorbs much water vapour from the oceans and land vegetation through evaporation. As this air rises it cools. Eventually the water vapour condenses into clouds and it then creates precipitation. So the equatorial region is both hot and wet. The air rises, then spreads horizontally to the north and south.
Winds push horizontally against the sea surface and drive ocean current patterns. Interactions between the ocean and atmosphere can also produce phenomena such as El Niño which occur every 2 to 6 years. Deep ocean circulation of cold water from the poles towards the equator and movement of warm water from the equator back towards the poles. Without this movement the poles would be colder and the equator warmer. The oceans play an important role in determining the atmospheric concentration of CO2.
How carbon in the atmosphere is added to rocks and is gone back through the atmosphere? The movement of carbon between the atmosphere and the lithosphere (rocks) begins with rain. This is where atmospheric carbon combines with water to form a weak acid – carbonic acid – that falls to the surface in rain. The acid dissolves rocks – a process called chemical weathering – and releases calcium, magnesium, potassium, or sodium ions. The rivers then carry the ions on to the sea.
Water is a powerful source. It causes erosion or more specifically runoff. The source of a river may come from a mountain. When it rains on the mountains it may create a stream, then later into a river. It turns into a river because of all the water the mountains have and then creates a path.
Cold Seeps A cold seep (sometimes called a cold vent) is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs. Cold seeps are distinct from hydrothermal vents: the former's emissions are of the same temperature as the surrounding seawater, whereas the latter's emissions are super-heated. Cold seeps constitute a biome supporting several endemic species. Cold seeps occur over fissures on the seafloor caused by tectonic activity. Oil and methane "seep" out of those fissures, are diffused by sediment, and emerge over an area several hundred meters wide.
Approaching the eastern seaboard of the United States it is deflected toward the northeast flowing towards the north Atlantic and Europe. After crossing the Atlantic it turns into the North Atlantic Current (Drift). The Gulf Stream enhances instability and the likelihood for precipitation as air passes over it. The warmth of the North Atlantic Drift moderates the climate of The British Isles. As air circulates around the eastern sides of the subtropical highs it blows over cold pools of water dragging them equatorward creating cold ocean currents.
The rain from these clouds reaches the ground as pure liquid water. Earth’s ecosystems are dependent upon this process. Port Stanvac Desalination Plant (under construction). View from the north (Hallett Cove/Lonsdale border area). By User:Vmenkov (Own work) [GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html) or CC-BY-SA-3.0-2.5-2.0-1.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons All artificial desalination processes are based on the natural hydrologic cycle.
Normal conditions, before El Nino events occur, strong trade winds move surface waters westward. As this occurs the water becomes warmer. When water becomes warmer it causes the air to rise and cool causing torrential rainfall. When El Nino occurs there a warm upper ocean layer, which is poor in nutrients and a cold lower ocean layer, which is rich in nutrients. The cold water is brought when the surface current flows westward in a process known as upwelling.
The strength, distance, and length of the wind gusts determine how big the ripples become. The crest of a wave is its highest point. Wavelength is the horizontal distance, and wave height is the wave’s vertical distance. The last type of motion is currents. Currents are the ocean’s constant flow of water that is pushed on by either the wind or from tides that are caused by the moon’s gravitational field.