How does the water cycle work? Water molecules are heated by the sun and turn into water vapor that rises into the air through a process called evaporation. Next, the water vapor cools and forms clouds, through condensation. Over time, the clouds become heavy because those cooled water particles have turned into water droplets. When the clouds become extremely heavy with water droplets, the water falls back to earth through precipitation (rain, snow, sleet, hail, etc). The process continues in a cyclical manner. Learn more about Earth’s water cycle on the Precipitation Education website.https://gpm.nasa.gov/media/oembed?url=https%3A//youtu.be/4HSFKwho7MQ%3Flist%3DPL_8hVmWnP_O258ZS4-HKumKTfX7f72LHA&max_width=0&max_height=0&hash=SIUTry0vWO_F90a770Ta4By1SFB1ZG3PmZ26cHyFYyk Freshwater seems abundant, but when accounting for all the water on Earth, it’s in limited supply. Just three percent of the water on our planet is freshwater. A majority of this water, about two percent of the world total, is contained in glaciers and ice sheets or stored below ground. The remaining one percent is found in lakes, rivers and wetland areas or transported through the atmosphere in the form of water vapor, clouds and precipitation. Rain and snowfall replenish freshwater sources, making it vital to know when, where and how much water is falling at any given time. Using NASA’s Global Precipitation Measurement satellite, researchers can track precipitation worldwide and monitor levels from space. For more information, visit http://water.usgs.gov/edu/earthwherew… This video is public domain and can be downloaded at: http://svs.gsfc.nasa.gov/goto?11619Read MoreRelated Articles NASA Satellite Data Helps Decision Makers Improve Life Around the Globe Monday, April 26, 2021NASA’s Earth observation data are used in a wide variety of ways to improve life for humans and other animals across the world every day. Our climate is changing, and these changes include differences in temperature and precipitation patterns around the globe. As you might imagine, these changes bring about both anticipated and unanticipated consequences that have a profound impact on people around the world. Many organizations are responding to the amazing yet complicated wealth of data that can be used to successfully monitor many aspects of our global environment. The World ResourcesRead More Building Connections: How NASA Data Empowers End Users, From Ecologists to Resource Analysts Tuesday, March 23, 2021So Much Data, So Little Time NASA’s Earth-observing data are used daily in a wide variety of ways to improve life for humans and animals across the planet. Our climate is changing, and these changes are having a profound impact on communities and species in many ways. Changing extremes in precipitation […]