How does the maximum range of ground-wave propagation change when the signal frequency is increased?

Ground-wave propagation occurs when radio waves travel directly along the surface of the Earth. The Earth's surface acts as a leaky capacitor and resistor, absorbing electromagnetic energy from the passing radio waves. As the frequency of the radio wave increases, this ground absorption increases significantly. Therefore, lower frequencies like 1.8 MHz (160 meters) or AM broadcast bands can travel hundreds of miles via ground wave, while higher frequencies lose their ground-wave energy very quickly over short distances. Because of this frequency-dependent absorption, the maximum range of a ground-wave signal decreases as frequency increases. Distractors suggesting the range increases or peaks at a certain high frequency confuse ground-wave characteristics with ionospheric sky-wave behavior.