Explore water vapor in the air in part two of the water cycle series. This second part of our series on the water cycle illustrates the way in which evaporation and winds combine to move water from the ocean to the land.

The process by which water moves around the earth, from the ocean, to the atmosphere, to the land and back to the ocean is called the water cycle. These animations each portray a component of the water cycle.

This animation uses Earth science data from a variety of sensors on NASA Earth observing satellites as well as cartoons to describe Earth's water cycle and the continuous movement of water on, above and below the surface of the Earth.

The process by which water moves around the earth, from the ocean, to the atmosphere, to the land and back to the ocean is called the water cycle. These animations each portray a component of the water cycle.

Explore how water moves across land and returns to the ocean in the final installment of the water cycle series. The visualizations illustrate the movement of water on land—from storage of precipitation in soil layers, to its transport via rivers.

Explore the solar heating of the ocean in part one of a series on the water cycle. The animations show multiple views of the solar heating of the oceans, a picture of this first stage of water's cyclical journey from sea to air to land, and back again.