Antarctica.
One would imagine since Antarctica is covered in snow or ice it would snow a lot, well, it doesn't. Antarctica, in case you haven't heard it before, is "the coldest, highest, windiest, driest, and iciest continent on earth." So, here is a little bit of information that I stole from some informative websites.
Photo by Katie Leum
The following questions were stolen from Antarctic Connection:
1. Why is Antarctica so cold?
Antarctica is synonymous with cold, thanks to its polar location, its high elevation, its lack of a protective, water-vapor filled atmosphere, and its permanent ice cover which reflects about 80% of the sun's radiation back into space. The South Pole is located within a permanent polar high created by the normal Hadley Circulation. This creates an extremely cold air mass which descends at the poles of the Earth. Unlike the Arctic region, Antarctica is a continent surrounded by an ocean which means that interior areas do not benefit from the moderating influence of water. During the winter, the size of Antarctica doubles as the surrounding sea water freezes blocking heat from the warmer surrounding ocean water.
2. Why is the air so dry in Antarctica?
Cold air holds less moisture than temperate air. This is because the molecules of air are packed so tightly that it's as if the moisture has been squeezed out of it. This means that the air in Antarctica is very dry. Relative humidities in the interior average less one tenth of one percent! Most visitors to Antarctica pack a few extra bottles of moisturizer before setting foot on the continent!
3. Does it snow at the pole?
The South Pole is located within a permanent polar high, making it possibly the most consistently cloudless place on Earth where there is a scientific station. Although there is lots of snow and ice around, the Pole is really a desert environment, because it averages less than 1 inch of precipitation yearly, about the same as the Sahara Desert. When warm moist air does make it all the way to the Polar Plateau, the air cools and becomes supersaturated with ice crystals. Ice crystals account for 90% of the accumulation on the plateau.
4. What's the difference between whiteouts & blizzards?
Blizzards:Blizzards are a typical Antarctic phenomenon in which very little, if any, snow actually falls. Instead the snow is picked up and blown along the surface by the wind, resulting in blinding conditions in which objects less than a meter away may be invisible.
Whiteouts:Whiteouts are another peculiar Antarctica condition, in which there are no shadows or contrasts between objects. A uniformly grey or white sky over a snow-covered surface can yield these whiteouts, which cause a loss of depth perception -- for both humans and wildlife.
So. If some places of Antarctica only receive as much as 2 inches of snow per year and there is a lot of snow out in Antarctica then the snow we see each day is old snow. How old? Well, I really wouldn't be able to tell you that but we can guess. So, if there is twenty inches of snow on the ground that is blowing around we can say that some of that snow can be up to ten years old. Mmmm. Delicious. I am just guessing. Hey! It can be older than that or newer. The world may never know...
Websites I stole from:
www.antarcticconnection.comen.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica...if anyone out there has any questions concerning anything and everything ask them. I will try my darnest to answer them. If you want I can start a Q & A Session with yours truly. Just let me know. The world is at my fingertips. How about this leave, a question every time you visit.
