[stormer]

The author may have wanted to take a science class beyond high school. He apparently is is unfamiliar with the process of sublimation whereby a solid is converted into a gas without an intervening liquid state. For water ice, this process can occur at temperatures far below freezing if proper vapor pressure conditions are in place. What drives the process is heat (not to be confused with temperature). The water vapor lost through sublimation is carried into the atmosphere where it moves along through the hydrologic cycle. I curse sublimation when I'm ready for a frosty gin and tonnie and the ice cubes in the tray are nothing but little nubbins. Anyway, if the author wants to sound even reasonably intelligent, he should probably bone up on a little basic science.

[Real Cynic No More]

Thanks. You beat me to it!

[RobRoy]

>>The author may have wanted to take a science class beyond high school. He apparently is is unfamiliar with the process of sublimation whereby a solid is converted into a gas without an intervening liquid state.<<

I noticed that too. However, I gave him a pass for three reasons -

1. He actually used the word “melt”.
2. Sublimation is MUCH slower.
3. It confuses the point the author was trying to make. I suspect that if someone brought that up to the author he would say pretty much what I just did, but probably in his own way.