Ronald Oetzel, age 9, of East Peoria, Illinois, for his question:

Can water flow out of the ocean?

The world's rivers dump millions of tons of water into the oceans every day. Ronald. wants to know why the oceans don't fill up to the brim and spill over. He wonders if there is some way for the oceans to get rid of some of their extra water. and this, says Andy, is a very thoughtful idea.

The oceans do lose millions of tons of water every day. But it does not flow away. It dries up or evaporates into the air. There it turns into misty clouds and sooner or later the clouds turn into raindrops. The raindrops tumble down onto the ground and some of this water flows back to the sea in rivers. The sun dries up the water from the face of the earth and the merry‑go‑round starts all over again.