Antarctica is one of the coldest, snowiest parts of the globe, but there may actually be less snow across the surface of the planet's southernmost continent than scientists originally thought.
Researchers studying areas of eastern Antarctica where snow is often stripped off the surface by wind, recently found that the powerful gusts are actually vaporizing massive amounts of snow, rather than blowing and redistributing it elsewhere. The findings have implications for future measurements of snow accumulation in Antarctica and how the continent may contribute to rising global sea levels.
Image: A view of East Antarctica's Recovery Ice Stream. Credit: Ted Scambos/NSIDC
