The fact that water exists in three phases solid, liquid and gas and that it exhibits a variety of properties when in any of these forms means a lot for the surface of the earth. Most familiar would be the behavior of bodies of water in wintertime the surface is covered in a sheet of ice ranging in thickness from a few inches in lakes to a couple of meters in larger bodies of water, which floats above the warmer liquid water.
Ice is less dense than water, so that it does not sink to the bottom as is the case for the solid phases of other materials, and the water solidifies not all at once but gradually, so that water that is not exposed to the cold air remains warm. This allows living organisms to thrive in winter and not to be frozen solid where they were on the onset of the chill. Another example of the influence of waters three phases on the face of the earth is the freeze-thaw cycle. On cold nights, the water trapped in rocks may turn to ice, which, due to its lower density, occupies a greater volume than liquid water, thus pushing the constituents of the rocks apart just a bit.
Repeating this creates a cycle that leads to the breaking up of large chunks of rock into smaller pieces, which could now be carried by running water and wind to other areas so that the minerals making up the rock is spread out to enrich the soil. Finally, water shapes the earths terrain when gaseous water vapor comes down in as precipitation as rain, the liquid water cuts channels along rocks and soil as it passes, making depressions on the surface and filling these up semi-permanently or permanently with water to make rivers and the like and as solid precipitation like hail, it can strike down structures like trees and vulnerable buildings, clearing up swaths of the surface to be acted on by the elements.
Ice is less dense than water, so that it does not sink to the bottom as is the case for the solid phases of other materials, and the water solidifies not all at once but gradually, so that water that is not exposed to the cold air remains warm. This allows living organisms to thrive in winter and not to be frozen solid where they were on the onset of the chill. Another example of the influence of waters three phases on the face of the earth is the freeze-thaw cycle. On cold nights, the water trapped in rocks may turn to ice, which, due to its lower density, occupies a greater volume than liquid water, thus pushing the constituents of the rocks apart just a bit.
Repeating this creates a cycle that leads to the breaking up of large chunks of rock into smaller pieces, which could now be carried by running water and wind to other areas so that the minerals making up the rock is spread out to enrich the soil. Finally, water shapes the earths terrain when gaseous water vapor comes down in as precipitation as rain, the liquid water cuts channels along rocks and soil as it passes, making depressions on the surface and filling these up semi-permanently or permanently with water to make rivers and the like and as solid precipitation like hail, it can strike down structures like trees and vulnerable buildings, clearing up swaths of the surface to be acted on by the elements.
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