Water is continuously cycled through the atmosphere, ocean, and land driven by energy from the Sun.

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Water cycle

Liquid water is changed into a gas.

Evaporation

Water in the clouds falls back to Earth in the form of rain, sleet, snow or hail.

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precipitation

​Water vapor (gas) cools, and it becomes liquid.

Condensation

​Evaporation from plants that sends water vapor into the atmosphere.

transpiration

Excess Water that collects in streams, rivers, and eventually the ocean.

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​runoff

A measure of the amount of matter packed into a given volume

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Density

A measure of the amount of dissolved salt contained in water.

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salinity

The top of a wave.

crest

The bottom of a wave

trough

The distance from one wave crest to another..

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wavelength

Wind-driven currents that move at the ocean surface.

​surface currents

  Currents driven by density and temperature that move slowly within the ocean.

​deep water currents