Meteorologist
Meteorologist: A scientist who studies the weather. Uses automatic weather stations and visual observations of the skies to collect data on precipitation, temperature, and cloud cover.
In the winter, most of the precipitation in the western Antarctic Peninsula occurs as snow. There is an even mix of snow and rain the rest of the year.
It is difficult to accurately measure the amount of snowfall in the Antarctic because strong winds blow the snow around.
The Antarctic Peninsula has a relatively warm maritime climate so it gets more rain and snow than the rest of the Antarctic continent.
Most of the rain and snow in the western Antarctic Peninsula is generated by cyclones from outside the Southern Ocean. Cyclones are areas of low atmospheric pressure and rotating winds.
When there is less sea ice covering the ocean, there is more evaporation of the ocean and, therefore, more moisture in the atmosphere.
As sea ice melts, bacteria and other particles are released into the atmosphere. These particles can form condensation nuclei, which grow into rain or snow.
