A synthesis of warm air advection to the South Polar Plateau

Surface temperature and wind chronologies of varying length and 10 m snow temperatures have been used to produce a synthesis of airflow into Antarctica. This synthesis shows relatively warm air over Ellsworth Land, which appears to enter the South Polar Plateau through a slightly lower-tying trough between the summit of the Transantarctic Mountains and the Polar Plateau. Comparison of recent automatic weather station (AWS) records from Mount Howe (88.5 degrees S, 150 degrees W) with four AWS surrounding South Pole at 89 degrees S show that this upslope inflow is a frequent and persistent phenomenon.