• Precipitation: moisture reaching the surface as rain, sleet, snow, or hail; rain is the most common type 

• Surface run-off: precipitation flowing over the ground surface, eventually finding its way into streams and rivers 

• Interception: precipitation not reaching Earth's surface due to being obstructed by  trees and plants 

• Infiltration: precipitation soaking into sub-surface soils and moving into rocks through cracks and pore spaces 

• Through-flow: downslope movement of water through soil, roughly parallel to the ground  surface 

• Groundwater flow: slow horizontal movement of water through rock

• Evaporation: water from oceans, seas, and other water bodies changed from water droplets to water vapour (invisible gas) in the atmosphere due to heat

• Transpiration: evaporation or diffusion of water from plant leaves

• Condensation: water vapour converted back into liquid (water droplets) or solid (particles of ice) due to a decrease in temperature with increasing height by air currents (e.g. clouds) 

Written by Avik Singh

Curated by Quinn Luong