Water vapor - and with it energy - is carried around the globe by weather systems. This satellite image shows the distribution of water vapor over Africa and the Atlantic Ocean.

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.

Explore how water droplets form and fall from the sky in part three of the water cycle series. Watch how water vapor moves through the atmosphere and returns to Earth as rain and snow.

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.

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.

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.