dew, deposit of waterdrops formed at night by the condensation of water vapour from the air onto the surfaces of objects freely exposed to the sky (see ). It forms on clear nights when the air is calm or, preferably, when the wind is light. If the temperature of the surface is below the freezing point of water, the deposit takes the shape of hoarfrost (see frost). Dew forms on clear nights because on such nights freely exposed surfaces lose heat to the sky by radiation. Unless this loss is offset by an efficient conduction of heat from the interior of the object, the surface will cool. Most objects, including grass blades, leaves, and petals, are much better radiators than air and, as a result, are usually colder at night than is the air. The cold surface cools the air in its vicinity, and, if the air contains sufficient atmospheric humidity, it may cool below its dew point. When this happens, water vapour will condense out of the air onto the surface.
The formation of dew is sustained by the diffusion of water vapour. Regarding the vertical diffusion of water vapour over soils carrying vegetation, there are two possible situations. First, there is the downward movement of water vapour from the atmosphere, which occurs when the water vapour content of the air increases with height. Second, there is the upward movement of water vapour, which occurs when the soil surface temperature is higher than that of the leaves. Accordingly, dew may be classified (1) as formed when water vapour diffuses downward in the air and (2) as formed from water vapour diffusing from the underlying soil surface. The name dewfall is proper to (1), and dew arising from (2) may be called distillation.
There have been various attempts to measure dew. Among the various instruments are R. Leick’s porous gypsum plates and S. Duvdevani’s dew gauge, consisting of a wooden slab treated with paint. To determine the amount of dew, Leick’s plates are weighed, whereas Duvdevani’s gauge involves the use of an optical dew scale. Other investigators developed recording dew balances whose surface and exposure conform with the surrounding surface as far as possible. It is by means of such dew balances that one can best observe the phenomenon of distillation: on some occasions no gain in weight or even some loss in weight may be recorded despite the fact that dew had formed on the leaves. Clearly, this dew must be attributed to the diffusion of water vapour from one part of the weighed system to another; i.e., from soil to leaves.
The amount of dew formed on plants is not well known. It would appear that during dew nights the amounts vary from very small quantities to about 0.02 inch (0.51 millimetre). G. Hofmann (Die Thermodynamik der Taubildung, 1955) estimated that the maximum possible amount is about 0.03 in. for a 10-hour night, but such amounts would occur only under exceptional circumstances. Total annual dew precipitation may lie between about 0.5 in. in cold climates and in nearly arid warm climates, to about 3 in. in semihumid warm climates. Because dew produced by distillation from the soil cannot be regarded as a gain of moisture, not all of the annual dew may be significant from a hydrological point of view. In some desert areas and semiarid regions the net gain may be a substantial fraction of the rainfall, however, and dew may be the principal moisture source for plants and animals. Under such conditions, it also may assume an important role in some aspects of rock weathering. From the biological viewpoint, the usefulness of dew is doubtful, as dew may stimulate the growth of fungi harmful to plants.