01745nas a2200193 4500008004100000245004900041210004700090260001200137300001200149490000700161520118900168653001101357100002401368700002201392700002101414700002401435700002001459856007201479 2010 eng d00aSnow in the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica.0 aSnow in the McMurdo Dry Valleys Antarctica c04/2010 a633-6420 v303 a

Snowfall was measured at 11 sites in the McMurdo Dry Valleys to determine its magnitude, its temporal changes, and spatial patterns. Annual values ranged from 3 to 50 mm water equivalent with the highest values nearest the coast and decreasing inland. A particularly strong spatial gradient exists in Taylor Valley, probably resulting from local uplift conditions at the coastal margin and valley topography that limits migration inland. More snow occurs in winter near the coast, whereas inland no seasonal pattern is discernable. This may be due, again, to local uplift conditions, which are common in winter. We find no influence of the distance to the sea ice edge. Katabatic winds play an important role in transporting snow to the valley bottoms and essentially double the precipitation. That much of the snow accumulation sublimates prior to making a hydrologic contribution underscores the notion that the McMurdo Dry Valleys are indeed an extreme polar desert. Copyright © 2009 Royal Meteorological Society

10aBiggie1 aFountain, Andrew, G1 aNylen, Thomas, H.1 aMonaghan, Andrew1 aBasagic, Hassan, J.1 aBromwich, David uhttps://mcm.lternet.edu/content/snow-mcmurdo-dry-valleys-antarctica03551nas a2200217 4500008004100000245009000041210006900131260001200200300001400212490000800226520282700234653001103061100002103072700002703093700001903120700002003139700002403159700002203183700001703205856011103222 2002 eng d00aValley floor climate observations from the McMurdo Dry Valleys, Antarctica, 1986-20000 aValley floor climate observations from the McMurdo Dry Valleys A c12/2002 a4772-47840 v1073 a

Climate observations from the McMurdo dry valleys, East Antarctica are presented from a network of seven valley floor automatic meteorological stations during the period 1986 to 2000. Mean annual temperatures ranged from −14.8°C to −30.0°C, depending on the site and period of measurement. Mean annual relative humidity is generally highest near the coast. Mean annual wind speed increases with proximity to the polar plateau. Site-to-site variation in mean annual solar flux and PAR is due to exposure of each station and changes over time are likely related to changes in cloudiness. During the nonsummer months, strong katabatic winds are frequent at some sites and infrequent at others, creating large variation in mean annual temperature owing to the warming effect of the winds. Katabatic wind exposure appears to be controlled to a large degree by the presence of colder air in the region that collects at low points and keeps the warm less dense katabatic flow from the ground. The strong influence of katabatic winds makes prediction of relative mean annual temperature based on geographical position (elevation and distance from the coast) alone, not possible. During the summer months, onshore winds dominate and warm as they progress through the valleys creating a strong linear relationship (r2 = 0.992) of increasing potential temperature with distance from the coast (0.09°C km−1). In contrast to mean annual temperature, summer temperature lends itself quite well to model predictions, and is used to construct a statistical model for predicting summer dry valley temperatures at unmonitored sites.

10aBiggie1 aDoran, Peter, T.1 aMcKay, Christopher, P.1 aClow, Gary, D.1 aDana, Gayle, L.1 aFountain, Andrew, G1 aNylen, Thomas, H.1 aLyons, Berry uhttps://mcm.lternet.edu/content/valley-floor-climate-observations-mcmurdo-dry-valleys-antarctica-1986-2000