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Wind blowing snow out to sea at Ross Ice Shelf's Cape Crozier.

Wind blowing snow out to sea at Ross Ice Shelf's Cape Crozier.
Wind blowing snow out to sea at Ross Ice Shelf's Cape Crozier.
Wind blowing snow out to sea at Ross Ice Shelf's Cape Crozier.
Wind blowing snow out to sea at Ross Ice Shelf's Cape Crozier.
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131774
Linder, Christopher L.
Wind blowing snow out to sea at Ross Ice Shelf's Cape Crozier.
Still Image
12/21/2007
graphics/pd3-1/cl_20071221_antarctica_iceshelf_002.jpg
Fierce winds blow plumes of snow out to sea and erase most of the 400-mile-long Ross Ice Shelf from view. As global climate warms, Ballard and his coworkers are finding windier days and snowier storms at Cape Crozier. This is partly because warm air holds more moisture than cold - the extra moisture turns into more snow when the air finally cools over Antarctica. For now, climate change is making the Ross Sea more hospitable to Adelies, while populations shrink farther north along the Antarctic Peninsula. But deep snows in summer can endanger nesting, and changing winds can affect where the pack ice forms. Time will tell how far temperatures will rise and how much weather patterns will change.
Image of The Day caption:
In Antarctica, fierce winds blow plumes of snow out to sea and erase most of the 400 mile long Ross Ice Shelf from view. As global climate warms, polar researchers are finding windier days and snowier storms at Cape Crozier. This is partly because warm air holds more moisture than cold -- the extra moisture turns into more snow when the air finally cools over Antarctica.
Photo by Chris Linder
© Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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