Artigo

THE WATERS IN CICLE

(text on the table):

 

THE WATER CYCLE: THE MOVEMENT DOES NOT STOP!

In nature, water flows continuously between different environments. It is the water cycle, or hydrological cycle: evaporation and transpiration; condensation; precipitation; infiltration or flow... When this cycle is interrupted or undergoes some kind of alteration in any of its stages, all the others are affected to a greater or lesser extent.

 

(BOOK 1)

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EVAPORATION: WATER RAISING FROM LAND TO AIR

 

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The Sun's energy heats the water present on the Earth's surface and causes some of it to change to a vapor state. Evaporation is the transformation of water from its liquid state to its gaseous state as it moves from the surface to the atmosphere. Plants and animals, like us humans, lose water to the atmosphere also through transpiration. Transpiration is the way water in organisms passes into the atmosphere.

 

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The simultaneous process of transferring water to the atmosphere through evaporation and transpiration is named evapotranspiration. The vegetation covering the soil, the intensity of solar radiation, humidity, temperature and wind at each location interfere with the evapotranspiration process and directly influence the amount of water vapor released into the atmosphere, as well as the volume of rainfall. Forest evapotranspiration, for example, is much higher than in areas where native vegetation has been replaced by towns, plantations or grasslands.

 

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The suppression of vegetation reduces the rate of evapotranspiration, reduces water vapor in the atmosphere, the formation of clouds and the incidence of rain, increasing the chance of forest fires that, in turn, cause the mortality of trees. The smoke from these fires interferes with the mechanisms of cloud formation, further contributing to the decrease in rainfall. Increasing water consumption in a region also results in less water to evaporate, affecting the water cycle as a whole.

 

 

(BOOK 2)

 

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CONDENSATION: THE PATHS OF WATER THROUGH THE AIR

 

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Water vapor resulting from evaporation and transpiration is transported by atmospheric movement. When it reaches the upper, colder layers of the atmosphere, it cools and condenses. Condensation is the transformation of water vapor into small droplets of liquid water, creating clouds and fog. It is the condensed water in the air that, crossed by sunlight, produces a rainbow.

 

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Immense masses of water vapor travel across the sky carried by air currents, sometimes over a thousand kilometers, and account for much of the rain that falls in different parts of the world. In Brazil, many rains are formed directly from the evaporation of sea water. But some arise from huge volumes of water vapor making a trip across the country. They are our flying rivers!

 

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The Amazonian aerial river is the largest in Brazil, but it is not the only one. Many other air currents loaded with water vapor in the Brazilian airspace are responsible for rains that fall in different parts of the national territory, benefiting for example the Cerrado region, in the Brazilian Central Plateau, our main agricultural source. Without it, the Amazon Forest would not possibly have formed. The Amazon River itself is the result of the precipitation of the humidity contained in the aerial rivers that transit over the region.

 

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1- The wind “carries” itself with moisture in the equatorial strip of the Atlantic Ocean and goes to the region of the Amazon Forest.

2- The evapotranspiration and condensation over the Amazon causes the suction of the trade winds, pumping the winds towards the interior of the continent, making the flying rivers move, generating rains.

3- The humidity goes to the west, towards the Cordillera de los Andes. When passing through the forest, there is a circulation of water vapor.

4- When arriving in the Cordillera, part of the humidity precipitates, feeding the headwaters of the rivers of the Amazon.

5- Part of the moisture that arrives in the Andes is blocked, returns to Brazil through the aerial rivers and goes to the central-west, south and southeast regions, where it can fall.

6- The flying rivers feed on the water reservoirs of the Southeast and South regions, dispersing in the Southern Cone countries.

 

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Along with water vapor, gases such as carbon dioxide and methane form a layer that traps some of the sun's heat in our atmosphere. This natural phenomenon is called the Greenhouse Effect and if it weren't for it, life on Earth would not have such diversity and it would be an icy environment. But men began to intensively use carbon in the form of coal and oil, among others, and immense amounts of gases began to be dumped into the atmosphere, intensifying the Greenhouse Effect. Therefore, global warming is the biggest environmental challenge of the 21st century.

 

 

(BOOK 3)

 

 

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PRECIPITATION: WATER BACK TO THE SURFACE OF THE PLANET!

 

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In clouds, droplets of liquid water gather together, forming larger and larger drops. When these drops become too heavy and can no longer float in the air, they precipitate as rain. Precipitation or rain consists of condensed water vapor that falls on the Earth's surface, either directly on land or in the sea. On the continents, precipitation predominates; the oceans evaporate more water than they receive in precipitation. Clouds are visible manifestations of condensation and deposition of water vapor in the atmosphere.

 

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When the temperature is below zero degrees, the water droplets can solidify forming small crystals - snow, or forming large irregular pieces of ice - hail. Sometimes, precipitation can return to the atmosphere even before it reaches the Earth's surface, as a thin, warm rain. In other situations, snowfall can drop on a mountain and stay there for centuries! All this movement is influenced by the rotation of the Earth and by atmospheric currents.

 

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The water cycle and the planet's climate are strongly intertwined. Global warming increases air temperature, which increases the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere, accelerates the process of condensation and the formation of more heavy clouds. Storms are increasingly intense, causing enormous damage. At the same time, in other places, there are long periods of drought. This can affect agricultural production and life in the countryside and in the city, even compromising the population's food supply.

 

 

(BOOK 4)

 

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DRAINAGE AND INFILTRATION - WATER MOVEMENTS ON AND WITHIN THE EARTH SURFACE

 

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The rainwater that reaches the earth can follow different paths. It can be retained in vegetation and return to the atmosphere by evaporation. It may fall into the soil, evaporate or be absorbed by plants and then return to the atmosphere through transpiration. A part of the precipitation water flows over the earth's surface, directly feeding lakes, streams, rivers, seas and oceans. Surface runoff is the movement of water on the earth's surface towards the seas.

 

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Part of the rainwater that reaches the ground runs off into rivers, while another part seeps deeper into the ground. Infiltration is the flow of water from the surface into the soil. The vegetal cover of the soil causes the water to drain more slowly through the roots, facilitating the infiltration process. Small living things that live in the decaying organic layer keep the soil filled with tiny channels that also facilitate infiltration.

 

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Infiltration is important to regulate the flow of rivers, as water is released gradually, preventing sudden flows that cause flooding. Regions where infiltration occurs and water is retained in the soil are called recharge areas. An example of this is this Park, where the set of mountains and the presence of iron ore (canga, very porous), constitute an important recharge area. Rainwater that infiltrates deep into the soil accumulates forming underground water deposits - a layer of water between layers in the soil.

 

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Rainwater infiltrates the soil and descends, in a vertical movement through the porous medium, until it reaches the underground aquifer. Aquifer is a large storage of groundwater made up of permeable rocks full of pores or fractures, fed by rainwater, seas and springs that penetrate the aquifers by infiltration. The use of water from aquifers by humans requires care to avoid contamination. The increasing use by industry, agriculture and for human consumption threatens aquifers.

 

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In the Rola-Moça Mountains State Park and in the neighboring Fechos Ecological Station, the protection of the recharge zone guarantees numerous springs of streams that will form two important basins: the Paraopeba River and the Velhas River.

This park houses important water supply sources for Belo Horizonte and its metropolitan region. A public water supply is the source of surface or underground fresh water used for human consumption or the development of economic activities.

 

 

(BOOK 5)

 

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WATER AND HUMAN WELL-BEING

 

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In its cycle, waters help to create shapes on the surface of the planet: erosion and the transport of sediments create conditions for the existence or suppression of plant cover and, more generally, of life on earth. Thus, the hydrological cycle is fundamental for environmental balance!

 

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Water provides us with many “environmental services”! Environmental services are the services provided by the environment to sustain and ensure human life. They make the link between ecosystems, human well-being and the economy. But how to plan the good use of water resources, to maintain the benefits provided by water? A good way to reconcile the protection and use of water is the planning of hydrographic basins.

 

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The “watersheds” can be defined as a part of the relief supplied by a main river and its tributaries. Knowing the characteristics of a watershed, it is possible to understand how the flow occurs, the tendency of floods and, consequently, make proper planning and management of the territory. This is of great importance, as water, although a resource that is constantly renewed thanks to the hydrological cycle, is not an infinite resource.

 

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The low supply of water in relation to our need, or water crisis, is an important event. There are many causes of a water crisis, including poor planning of water use. Climate change, which are changes in weather patterns, also contribute and can cause intense droughts and water shortages.

In this way, the conscious, adequate and responsible use of water is extremely important for the planet, since water is finite and essential for life.

 

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You already know the complex hydrological cycle, where water continuously circulates between different environments, following different stages. Any change in any of its steps will affect the others. Life on the planet depends on water, so we need to take good care of it. The future is in your hands!