An underground rock formation in which groundwater is stored.
The solid rock that lies below the C horizon, the deepest layer of soil.
A combination of all living things on Earth—plants, mammals, birds, reptiles, amphibians, aquatic life, insects, viruses, single-cell organisms, and so on—as well as all formerly living things that have not yet decomposed.
The process whereby liquid water is converted into a gaseous state and transported to the atmosphere.
The loss of water to the atmosphere via the processes of evaporation and transpiration.
The upper part of Earth's continental crust, or that portion of the solid earth on which human beings live and which provides them with most of their food and natural resources.
Underground water resources that occupy the pores in bedrock.
The continuous circulation of water throughout Earth and between various earth systems.
Areas of the earth sciences concerned with the study of the hydrosphere. Among these areas of study are hydrology, glaciology, and oceanography.
The study of the hydrosphere, including the distribution of water on Earth, its circulation through the hydrologic cycle, the physical and chemical properties of water, and the interaction between the hydrosphere and other earthsystems.
The entirety of Earth's water, excluding water vapor in the atmosphere but including all oceans, lakes, streams, groundwater, snow, and ice.
The upper layer of Earth's interior, including the crust and the brittle portion at the top of the mantle.
When discussing the hydrologic cycle or meteorology, precipitation refers to the water, in liquid or solid form, that falls to the ground when the atmosphere has become saturated with moisture.
Any set of interactions that can be set apart mentally from the rest of the universe for the purposes of study, observation, and measurement.
The process whereby plants lose water through their stomata, small openings on the undersides of leaves.
An area of terrain from which water flows into a stream, river, lake, or other large body.
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