Why doesn't the water vapor just stay over the ocean?
ocean water will reabsorb much of the steam
. Why is it important for scientists to measure how much precipitation is falling across the world? to find where the freshwater exists in the Earth's system.
Why don t the oceans reabsorb the water that evaporates?
because
the oceans already have a ton of water in them
so they don't really need to absorb the water again that evaporates…
Does water vapor come from the ocean?
Water at the surface
of the ocean, rivers, and lakes can become water vapor and move into the atmosphere with a little added energy from the Sun through a process called evaporation. Snow and ice can also become water vapor through a process called sublimation.
Why does more water evaporate off of oceans than off of land?
Answer:
Evaporation is bigger above the oceans than above the earth
, while precipitation is higher over the earth than over the ocean. Explanation: Most of the water that evaporates from the ocean goes back to it.
What causes water vapor on Earth?
When liquid water reaches a low enough temperature, it freezes and becomes a solid—ice. When solid water is exposed to enough heat, it will melt and return to a liquid. As that
liquid water is further heated, it evaporates
and becomes a gas—water vapor.
Where is most ocean water heated?
Covering more than 70 percent of the Earth's surface and containing about 97 percent of its surface water, the ocean stores vast amounts of energy in the form of heat. The ocean receives most of its heat
along the equator
, where incoming solar radiation is about double that received at the poles.
How long does water vapor remain in the air?
Surprisingly, only about 12 trillion tons of water is in the air at any one time because water vapor only stays in the air for an
average of 10 days
.
Where is water vapor found?
Water vapor is a relatively common atmospheric constituent, present
even in the solar atmosphere
as well as every planet in the Solar System and many astronomical objects including natural satellites, comets and even large asteroids.
What enters the ocean with the rain water?
Runoff from the Massachusetts rain may drain into the Atlantic Ocean and circulate northeastward toward
Iceland
, destined to become part of a floe of sea ice, or, after evaporation to the atmosphere and precipitation as snow, part of a glacier.
Why is rain not salty?
But over time, as rain fell to the Earth and ran over the land, breaking up rocks and transporting their minerals to the ocean, the ocean has become saltier.
Rain replenishes freshwater in rivers and streams
, so they don't taste salty.
What would happen if less water evaporated from the ocean?
Well, whatever water was left would evaporate in a matter of days, leaving
humanity to die from dehydration
. Most animals would go extinct without water. Who knows, maybe camels would become Earth's next civilization? After a few days, plants would give up their attempts to survive without water.
Does more water evaporate from the land or from the ocean?
Evaporation is
more prevalent over the oceans than precipitation
, while over the land, precipitation routinely exceeds evaporation. Most of the water that evaporates from the oceans falls back into the oceans as precipitation.
When water evaporates from the ocean surface the remaining water is cooled?
It remains constant until the ice melts then it begins to rise. When water evaporates from the ocean surface: the remaining water is cooled.
Where is most of the water on Earth stored?
Over 68 percent of the fresh water on Earth is found in
icecaps and glaciers
, and just over 30 percent is found in ground water. Only about 0.3 percent of our fresh water is found in the surface water of lakes, rivers, and swamps.
What is it called when water vapor up in the sky becomes liquid water?
Condensation
is the process of water vapor turning back into liquid water, with the best example being those big, fluffy clouds floating over your head. And when the water droplets in clouds combine, they become heavy enough to form raindrops to rain down onto your head.
Which is a better source of water vapor?
As the temperature of the atmosphere rises, more water is evaporated from ground storage (
rivers, oceans, reservoirs
, soil). Because the air is warmer, the relative humidity can be higher (in essence, the air is able to ‘hold' more water when its warmer), leading to more water vapor in the atmosphere.
