Dryness

• Main Author: Dobiński, Wojciech
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: unknown
• Published: Wiley 2020
• Subjects: Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg2035; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg2035; https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full-xml/10.1002/9781118786352.wbieg2035

Dry areas cover about 45% of inhabited lands and at least 14 million km 2 of glaciated areas. Antarctica is the driest continent on Earth. Dryness refers to absence of liquid water, when water is either completely absent or only present in the solid or gaseous form. Wetness can only be attributed to liquid water. The atmosphere is dry when water vapor does not reach the dew point; in the lithosphere, this occurs when all free water is evaporated or frozen. When drying occurs through water evaporation, the natural water cycle remains active as water continues to circulate in its gaseous form. Drying through freezing transfers the water into the solid state, which belongs to the lithosphere, delaying or halting the circulation of water thus sequestered. Dry conditions, in general, are detrimental to life processes. Both types of dryness also significantly increase the fire hazard in the areas where they occur.