The ice budget of Antarcticia

The components of the water‐ice budget of Antarctica are analyzed on the basis of available Soviet and foreign data. According to a newly constructed map, annual snow accumulation in Antarctica averages 15.6 g/cm2, or 2,000 km3 of water. Several ice domes have been identified in East Antarctica proceeding from the stable relation between accumulation and absolute surface elevation. The computed ice losses (in km3 per year) are: 10 ±5 through glacial runoff, 0 for evaporation‐condensation, 20 ± 10 through snow removal by the wind, 50 ± 20 through ice melting at the bedrock, 320 ± X through bottom melting of ice shelves, and 2,000 ± 720 through iceberg calving. The amount of precipitation falling over Antarctica exceeds by 1.5% its accumulation on the ice sheet. The low accuracy of individual components of the budget does not permit a categorical conclusion to be made regarding its sign.