Paths of Water to the Atmosphere (IMAGE)

University of Utah

Paths of Water to the Atmosphere

Caption

This view of Henry's Lake in Utah's Uinta Mountains shows several ways water on land reaches the atmosphere: It evaporates from lake waters, streams and soils and also is transpired or "exhaled" by trees and other plants. Such evaporation -- as well as from the ocean +- helps form clouds in the sky. In a new study in the journal Science, University of Utah researchers determined how much of the rain and snowmelt that falls on the land moves to the atmosphere from plant transpiration and evaporation from soil and surface waters.

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Stephen Good/University of Utah

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Credit Stephen Good/University of Utah

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