Contributions to the Glaciology of the Antarctic

Abstract

During a winter in Terre Adélie in 1951 (Antarctica) certain glaciological studies were made. These were strongly hampered by the extraordinary strength and persistence of the blizzards from the ice cap. Near the coast the wind dominates the distribution of snow completely. The firn limit on the open ice cap is at a height of 450 m. (1500 ft.). The deposited snow is very tightly packed with a density of 0.4–0.5 gm./cm.3. On the ice cap the mean annual accumulation is 20–30 cm. water. At the coast and particularly on the ice cap measurements and calculations of the radiation balance show a strong loss for most of the time owing to the high albedo of the snow. The snow surface is almost continuously colder then the snow below and the air above. The radiation loss is mainly replaced by the influx of warmer air into the continent. The density of the drifting snow was measured. On a day with heavy blizzard the snow transport across each m. of the coast line is 2.5–3 kg. /m.sec. In a year at least 20 million tons pass each km. (30 million tons per mile). In Terre Adélie the drifting snow is an important item in the mass economy of the ice cap.