Nature Journaling Tip #15: The Water Cycle in Winter

It is snowing this morning, a gentle snow without wind; the sun is shining through a break in the clouds. The last five days it has snowed, with no let-up in the forecast. Ski areas are already open and it's still a week until Thanksgiving.

I have measured 26 inches of snow already in my backyard. Cold too: 18˚F the night before last, 28˚ this morning.

Frozen water is not very useful to most plants and animals, although some like the protection from subfreezing air afforded by snow-covered ground and ice-covered lakes. But thaws occur several times throughout winter and about five months from now winter will release its grip for good and spring will explode with watery life once again. 

The high ridges of the Allegheny Plateau downwind of Lake Erie are famous for "lake effect" snow - snow that is generated as cold, wind-driven air - an "Alberta clipper" - sails over the relatively warm waters of that freshwater sea and causes water vapor to condense to form clouds. Once inland, narrow bands of snow clouds release their burden over high terrain. Depending on temperature and wind conditions, a single lake effect storm can dump more than three feet of snow.

This fact accounts for our snowy winters, of course. But it also accounts for much of the water in our lakes, streams, wetlands, and the groundwater aquifers that most of our citizens drink from.

It reminds me that all freshwater is derived from rain and snowfall. Our atmosphere and hydrosphere are intimately linked in a dance of evaporating and condensing water molecules. Of course, the lithosphere (the soil and rocks beneath our feet) and the biosphere (the whole community of living things) are hardly wallflowers either - everyone takes part in the dance.

We humans have an especially crucial role to play because we can affect, for good or ill, what goes into the atmosphere and drops back to earth dissolved in precipitation, and what goes directly into the ground and bodies of water. We can either use a sustainable amount of water or run out. We need to remember the old adage, "Waste not, want not." If we act as good stewards of the water cycle, nature will take care of the rest. 

Mark Baldwin is the Director of Education at the Roger Tory Peterson Institute of Natural History (RTPI), a proud partner in National Environmental Education Week. Each year RTPI offers online workshops for educators interested in bringing nature journaling into the classroom. For more information visit www.rtpi.org.