1: GROUND
wATER
Do you know much of our fresh water comes from underground?
And this is where many mysterious springs(1) may be found.
You see, some parts of the ground are permeable and some not,
Because of the impermeable parts, much fresh water have we got.
Permeable means water can go through it and impermeable means it cannot.
The impermeable ground layer will stop the water, collecting it like a pot.
We can sink a well because of underground water,
life’s liquid we have when other sources fAlter.
Where does this fresh water come from?
Well, for starters, you may thank the sun.
That’s right! The sun evaporates water from oceans and lakes and clouds form.
The fresh water is then dropped back down to earth allowing new life to be born.
but also realize not all water is used by us or evaporates,
Or runs back to the nearest ocean or nearby lake.
But over millions of years, in the ground does much of it soak,
Which is mighty good news for us and other kindly folk.
Because often we can find fresh water far away from a stream,
And when we do, the wonder of it can often make us beam.
Simply from the permeability or impermeability of sediment and rock,
We find the liquid of life, this secret we do unlock.
2: WATER CYCLE
The amount of water on earth always remains the same,
And water will often gravitate from whence it originally came.
It all starts with evaporation from our oceans and lakes,
And this process, does for us, much fresh water make.
Fortunately, salt is a solid and does not evaporate.
It is this important fact that very much rests our fate.
For animals, plants and humans can’t drink water with salt.
If we did, it would soon bring life to a screeching halt.
Now as this water evaporates, it vaporizes into clouds,
Which at times produces thunder, known to be quite loud.
These clouds have tons of water, yet they float in the air,
Releasing their water over oceans and land, seemingly Without a care.
The water is in tiny droplet form and the cloud is very very large,
So the average density is less than the air, floating like a giant barge.
The fresh water nourishes the land, making it green,
Changing it in ways both invisible and seen.
And plants, using photosynthesis(2), get the water they need,
Growing the farmer's crops in which we readily feed.
Plant’s excess water evaporates back to the air through transpiration(3),
Similar to how your body cools itself through evaporating perspiration.
This water vapor doesn’t disappear but will be used many times more,
Perhaps from that pitcher in the fridge from whence you a cold drink pour.
If water did not from one state to another, readily pass,
Perhaps the earth would be like Jupiter, another big ball of gas.
3: WATER WONDER
Do you know that, without water, they’d be no life?
So usable fresh water should never be considered rife.
Less than one percent of all water is available to drink,
So next time you use water, make sure you carefully think,
How rare this magical fluid is in usable liquid state,
How everything depends on it, yes even our own fate.
The atoms of water have an electrical bond(4),
Which form the molecules of H2O you can see in a pond.
Water can exist as a solid, liquid or gas,
And, from one state to another, does water often pass.
The star of all this is the energy of the sun,
Changing the state of water by the kiloton.
Forming mighty glaciers and vaporous clouds,
Often working in silence but other times quite loud.
Raining and snowing fresh water seemingly for us,
Nourishing our bodies but also forming rust.
In the universe, liquid water is extremely rare,
Always use water with respect and utmost care.
Do you know water will eventually dissolve everything(5)?
Often forming beautiful landscapes in ways to make us sing.
The earth has a fixed amount of water that circulates around.
Sometimes you can hear it; sit quietly and don’t make a sound.
4: WETLANDS
The drainage area of a river system is called its watershed,
While erosion and deposition change the land in ways seen and unsaid.
Ponds and lakes form Within the depressions in the land,
Where sunlight hits, there will be many plants instead of sand.
Convection forces circulate the water in the lakes,
While refreshing the water of nutrients(6) in its seasonal wake.
Convection forces are caused by density differences between hot and cold.
The heat in your home works on this same principal we’ve been told.
As the sun heats the surface of a pond or lake,
Temperature difference in the water makes it circulate.
Wetlands are covered with water for a good part of the year,
Filtering our water and breeding mosquitoes, listen, can you hear?
The many different animals who call the wetlands home,
So please dear humans, leave this land so these animals may roam,
And do remember these wetlands do valuable things for you and me.
Our survival is hinged with these lands, now please begin to see,
That we don’t need more shopping malls or parking lots of cars,
Which prevents excess runoff from being absorbed, that impermeable(7) tar.
Nature has its rhythms, please don’t intervene,
The wonders of the wetlands are not always clearly seen.
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