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Water Vapor Circulation on Earth

Water vapor -- the gaseous phase of water -- plays an important role in the water cycle and in regulating Earth's energy distribution. As oceans evaporate and plants transpire, liquid water from Earth's surface enters into the atmosphere as water vapor. When air cools, clouds form through water vapor condensation (forming liquid drops) or deposition (forming ice crystals); and clouds produce precipitation that returns liquid water back to Earth's surface. Water vapor is a critical component of Earth's atmosphere and, though it is invisible, it can be studied through the use of imaging that is sensitive to infrared wavelengths of about 6.5 to 7.4 micrometers in the electromagnetic spectrum. By assigning false colors to represent the infrared data, researchers are able to "see" water vapor in the atmosphere. In this simulation, water vapor is shown as white and precipitation is shown as orange.