Study says Antarctic snowfall still scarce, but not for long

Associated Press

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ORONO — A new report involving University of Maine climate change researchers shows that snowfall in interior Antarctica hasn't changed significantly in a half-century, despite recent winter warming trends. The study, published Friday in the journal Science, provides a 50-year time series of snow accumulation in Antarctica as part of the continuing research on how climate change is affecting the continent.

Snowfall amounts have averaged roughly 1 to 4 inches since the 1950s, said Paul Mayewski, director of the university's Climate Change Institute and one of 16 scientists who worked on the project. The scientists came from the University of Maine and Ohio State University as well as Europe, Australia and China.

The lack of significant change in snowfall is not unexpected and shows that climate change has yet to affect interior Antarctica, Mayewski said. But all other signs indicate it's only a matter of time before the climate warms and causes increased snowfall accumulation, he said.

Beginning in 1979, scientists noticed ice retreating in coastal Antarctic glaciers, he said. More recently, they've observed warming and the collapse of floating ice areas in the Antarctic Peninsula, to the north.

Further research shows that marine air masses are traveling farther inland over Antarctica and that the high-level atmosphere is warming.

"This all suggests that Antarctica may be setting up for significant climate change, and models suggest it could experience the greatest changes on the planet," Mayewski said.

Mayewski first visited Antarctica in 1968 as a graduate student and has spent the equivalent of 3 1/2 years living in a tent there on research expeditions. Some scientists estimate that interior Antarctica will experience significant warming in the next 20 to 50 years, he said.

Snowfall amounts are now small because the continent is mostly a vast, polar desert. When warming occurs, snowfall amounts will increase.

"The warmer the air masses, the more moisture they will bring in," he said.

The latest study will provide a foundation of information for future climate change studies in Antarctica. It will be a definitive moment when interior Antarctica undergoes climate change, he said.

"That will mean the entire planet will have gone into warming," he said.