Question: how does a water moleclue travel around?

James Pope answered on 25 Jun 2012:

Hi lupopippa,

Water molecules travel around in so many different ways. They make up a big chunk of our atmosphere, so they move around on the winds and as the air masses that move around. Some of this water falls from the atmosphere under the power of gravity as rain, while some molecules go the other way, heated to be a gas and evaporated into the atmosphere.

A lot of water on the planet is stored as ice, but it is still moving around, either very slowly in the ice sheets and glaciers or more quickly on sea ice flows. The biggest amount of water is of course in the oceans and this water is moving around on a lot of different currents, some of which are currents that move quickly and others can see a molecule of water disappear deep into the oceans for thousands of years. The most famous of these currents is the Thermohaline Circulation, which causes the warm moist air which dominates our climate (also known as the Gulf Stream) and the reason for the sudden cooling in the film “The Day After Tomorrow”.

Finally, a lot of water molecules move around in all animals including us, playing a vital role in ensuring our cells and other parts of our bodies function.

Water is pretty amazing!