Antarctica is one of the windiest regions on Earth, which result in shaping a variety of snow bedforms, akin to those observed in subtropical sand deserts. However, unlike the well-studied sand dunes, snow dunes have been only described qualitatively, leaving significant gaps in our understanding of their spatial distribution, orientation, and dynamics. Therefore, fundamental questions about the eolian transport of a cohesive material remain unanswered. In this talk, I will explore two snow bedforms in Antarctica: snow barchans and linear snow dunes. First, I will discuss the dynamics and morphology of snow barchans, and correlate it with in-situ weather data. Next, I will present a continent-wide mapping of linear snow dune orientations, demonstrating that on scales ranging from 30 meters to several kilometers, longitudinal dunes are the predominant landform in Antarctica. The predominance of the elongating mode indicates a low availability of mobile snow particles. Our findings emphasize the critical role of snow sintering and cohesion in shaping these distinctive bedforms.
November 20th 5PM CET