How Does The Water Cycle Work?
The water cycle is a hydrologic cycle that, in the process, has four stages, Evaporation, Transpiration, Condensation and Precipitation. The water cycle is a continuous cycle, where water from the ground is taken up into the sky and back down again.
Evaporation is when the suns energy, in form of light and heat, causes water to evaporate. The heat from the sun turns the water from a liquid to a vapour. In the Snowy Mountains, they have a colder temperature which produces less evaporation. This means there is more water in reservoirs for the Scheme to use.
Transpiration is the process by which moisture is carried through plants, from the roots to small pores on the underside of the leaf where it changes into vapour and is released into the atmosphere. Transpiration is essentially evaporation of water from plant leaves. Transpiration also accounts for approximately 10% of all evaporating water. Transpiration helps the Snowy Mountain Scheme because the Scheme is placed in the Kosciusko National Park which is an alpine forest area; this means there is more transpiration since there are a massive number of plants, which also provides more water for the Scheme.
Condensation is when the water vapour cools down and transforms back into water. The water will then make a cloud. Less water produces white clouds and more water forms dark clouds. When the clouds drop their water it precipitates.
Precipitation is when clouds lose their water as rain, snow, hail or sleet. Precipitation is either absorbed into the ground or it runs off into the rivers. Precipitation is good for the Snowy Mountains because the wind blows the clouds to the mountains, and because of the cooler conditions it precipitates more. Snow is also important because when the snow melts it creates more water for the Snowy Mountain Scheme.