The provided diagram illustrates the various stages of the hydrologic cycle, which describes how water on the Earth continuously moves in a loop, both above and below the surface of the Earth. Overall, the cycle involves 5 main steps: evaporation, condensation, precipitation, infiltration and the fall of water on the surface of Earth.
To commence with, water from the Earth’s surface is mainly from oceans or rivers, undertakes the process of evaporation and then transforms into water vapor as it rises into the atmosphere. Subsequently, the water vapor cools down, leading to the cloud formation through the progression of condensation. These clouds consist of water droplets that combine to precipitate as rain, snow or hail.
At the sequential stage of the cycle, part of water seeps into the ground which is known as infiltration. This water then contributes to the replenishment of underground aquifers. On the other hand, some becomes surface runoff, directly flowing back to the oceans. The process concludes with the salt water intrusion, which is shown to take place before groundwater passes into the rivers or oceans to complete the cycle.