Mapping snow cover and snow depth across the Lake Limnopolar watershed on Byers Peninsula, Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctica

• Published in: Antarctic Science
• Main Authors: Fassnacht, S. R., López-Moreno, Juan I., Toro, M., Hultstrand, D. M.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2013
• Subjects: Antarctic; Byers; Byers peninsula; Las Palmas; Livingston Island; Antarc*; Antarctic Science; Antarctica; Ice Sheet
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10261/82586; https://doi.org/10.1017/S0954102012001216

Few parts of Antarctica are not permanently covered in ice. The retreat of the ice sheet from Byers Peninsula on western Livingston Island, Maritime Antarctica, has provided a new area of seasonal snow cover. Snow surveys were conducted in late November 2008 at the time of peak accumulation across the 1 km2 Lake Limnopolar watershed. Topographic variables were derived from a digital elevation model to determine the variables controlling the presence or absence of snow and the distribution of snow depth. Classification with binary regression trees showed that wind related variables dominated the presence and depth of snow. The product of the sine of aspect and the sine of slope was the first variable in both regression trees. Density profiles were also measured and illustrated a relatively homogeneous snowpack over space at peak snow accumulation. Copyright © Antarctic Science Ltd 2013. Travel to and accommodation in South America was provided by the International Programs at Colorado State University. Travel to Antarctica and logistical support for fieldwork was provided by the Spanish Polar Programme, grant POL2006-06635/CGL from the Education and Culture Ministry (Spain), and from the Las Palmas crew (Spanish Navy). Carlos Calvo of the UTM (Maritime Technology Unit, CSIC) and Brendan Keely of the University of York assisted with data collection. Adam Winstral of the Agricultural Research Service in Boise ID provided the code to compute the maximum upwind slope. We would also like to thank two anonymous reviewers for their important insight and their assistance in improving this paper. Thanks are due to Javier Zabalza of the Instituto Pirenaico de Ecologı´a for his assistance with the GIS work. Peer Reviewed