The Heat and Mass Balance of Snow Dunes on the Central Antarctic Plateau

The heat-balance components of the faces of snow blocks were measured at “Plateau” station on the Antarctic plateau using micro-meteorological instrumentation. Heat-balance considerations and sublimation observations indicate considerable mass loss from the sloping snow surfaces during summer but little loss from horizontal surfaces. This process tends to level the irregularities of the snow surface. The conclusions are applicable to the snow dunes forming the general accumulation pattern on the Antarctic plateau.