Sublimation
From HydroWiki
Sublimation from snow is an often neglected component of water and energy balances.
- Sublimation is the process of snow and ice changing into water vapor in the air without first melting into water
- There is no intermediate liquid stage between the solid and the gaseous phases of matter during sublimation.
- Sublimation is a latent heat term that is equivalent to the sum of the latent heats of fusion (λf = 0.334 * 106 J/kg) and vaporization (λv = 2.5 * 106 J/kg).
- Try this: Hang a wet shirt outside on a subzero day…eventually the ice will disappear
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/watercyclesublimation.html
- The opposite of sublimation is deposition. Water vapor changes directly into ice during deposition. Think snowflakes and frost.
- Perfect weather conditions for sublimation to occur are low relative humidity, dry winds, low air pressure, high altitude with strong sunlight to supply the energy.
[edit]
SOURCES AND INFORMATION
The Weather Notebook, Mount Washington Observatory Sublimation USGS
