| 24 Nov 2025
Tracking In-Situ Snow Accumulation at Neumayer, Coastal Antarctica: Signs of Climatic Changes in the past 30 Years?
Abstract. This study investigates monthly snow accumulation derived from in-situ measurements at Neumayer Station, coastal Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica, over a 33-year period (1991–2024). Snow accumulation is the major component of the surface mass balance, which is among the most uncertain factors of Antarctica's contribution to global sea level rise. The analysis aims to (1) quantify seasonal contributions and detect climatological shifts, (2) compare annual accumulation rates across three measurement sites, and (3) investigate the magnitude and nature of interannual variability. Results reveal high intra- and interannual variability without a consistent seasonal cycle. Out of the four seasons, only the austral autumn season has shown a statistically significant increase in accumulation over the past 30 years. Although no robust long-term trend was detected in annual accumulation rates, the years 2021 and 2023 stand out as statistically rare positive extremes observed across the measurement sites. Spectral analyses reveal pronounced interannual to decadal variability, which hinders the detection of potential trends and raises the question of whether these extremes reflect constructive interference of natural variability modes or indicate the onset of a regime shift in accumulation driven by global climate warming. Supplementary analysis of monthly average meteorological parameters (temperature, relative humidity, and wind fields) revealed no consistent link to accumulation on monthly scales, suggesting a decoupling between local meteorology and snow accumulation at these time scales. This highlights the need for further research into short-term processes and event-scale accumulation drivers. The datasets presented here provide a long-term base for validating regional climate models and for ground-truthing remote sensing products related to Antarctic snow accumulation and surface mass balance.
Competing interests: At least one of the (co-)authors is a member of the editorial board of The Cryosphere.
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