Summer melting on the Ross ice shelf Colin Harris / era-images / Alamy Stock Photo
The average winter temperature on the Antarctic peninsula is a chilly -15°C. Yet automated instruments on the Larsen C ice shelf have recorded extensive surface melting even during the long, dark winter.
When wind blows over high mountains, the descending air can warm by several degrees. On the Antarctic peninsula, this phenomenon – known as a foehn wind – can sometimes raise air temperature above zero. This was known to happen during summer but has now been found to be occurring even in mid-winter.
As the…
