On the Snow Accumulation Pattern in Coastal EastAntarctica

In light of future sea-level change investigations of
the polar ice sheets have become a major concern in
climate sciences. Despite all research efforts it is
not accurately known today whether the large ice
sheet of Antarctica is losing or gaining mass. This
leads to large uncertainties in predictions regarding
sea-level rise in the 21st century. Part of the
uncertainty in determination of the Antarctic mass
balance is due to the fact that this huge continent
is not covered sufficiently by ground-based
measurements.
Helgard Anschütz contributes with her study on
snow-accumulation rates in coastal East Antarctica
new data sets and insight in local features that
affect the accumulation pattern. The study discusses
small-scale spatial and temporal variability of snow
accumulation over the last decades in relation to
current satellite missions and large-scale models.
This book is essentially her Ph.D. thesis and will be
of interest for climate scientist and everybody
interested in the polar regions and their effect on
global climate.