The type of storage that occurs on the land surface and under the ground largely depend on the geologic features related to the types of soil and the types of rocks present at the storage locations.

Finally, ice caps hold water the longest with residence times of up to 200 000 years. Lakes replenish their water every 50 to 100 years, while groundwater can last anywhere from 100 to 10 000 years. Water the water in the atmosphere is renewed every 15 days, while soil moisture lasts a couple of months. The average length of time that water stays in any reservoir in the hydrologic cycle is known as the residence time. The movement of water from place to place can be fairly erratic, but there are trends for how long certain types of reservoirs maintain their water for. Water moves from reservoir to reservoir through a variety of different transportation mechanisms, but this water can stay in storage for varying lengths of time. Water that starts here evaporates up into the atmosphere, where the majority of it falls back into the ocean as rain, while a much smaller amount falls onto land. Because the overwhelming majority of water is stored here, this can be seen as the start and end point of the cycle. ~97% of the world's water is stored in the oceans as saltwater. Most water on earth is found in oceans and seas, then in glaciers and groundwater. Collectively, all water storage areas make up the hydrosphere. Specifically these water storage areas are known as reservoirs and include oceans, glacier ice, groundwater, lakes, soil moisture, living organisms, the atmosphere, and rivers. Water can be stored in three main places: the atmosphere, on the surface of the Earth, and underground.

The storage of water in the hydrologic cycle is vastly important on the Earth. Other extreme weather events are also very likely to occur, such as hurricanes and typhoons. This means that floods will become more likely in areas with more precipitation, while droughts will affect the drier places. Since a warming Earth means a moister atmosphere, the hydrologic cycle will become more intense precipitation and river flows are expected to increase by 10% to 40% in certain tropical locations, while decreasing up to 30% in dry locations. With the concerning emissions of greenhouse gases, global warming will likely play a large effect on this important cycle. The hydrologic cycle largely depends on the solar energy to the Earth, because hotter temperatures result in more evaporation, precipitation and higher humidity. In the hydrologic cycle, this energy comes from the Sun. Since nature follows the law of conservation of energy, the energy to fuel this cycle must come from somewhere. The evaporation of water from the oceans and evapotranspiration from continents is a particularly important component of the hydrologic cycle that requires a change of state and input of energy. It is important to note that water requires energy to change states - from solid to liquid is called the enthalpy of fusion, and from liquid to gas is called the enthalpy of vaporization. This continuous movement of water among the various storage reservoirs is termed the hydrologic cycle. Eventually, the water moves back out through some movement, such as evaporation into the atmosphere, discharge into a river, or migration into the subsurface groundwater system. After it enters the lake, it stays there for some period of time in its storage phase. For example, water enters a lake through some movement such as precipitation. Storage is where water in the system resides or 'rests' as it moves from one water reservoir to another. The cycle has two primary components: storage and movement. A diagram showing the major components of the water cycle.

Summarize the steps of the water cycle.