The Action Group for Snow in Antarctica (SnowAnt) aims to improve the knowledge on depositional and metamorphic processes in Antarctic snow and its feedbacks to the climate system; to develop a snow classification for Antarctica; to protect pristine snow areas, and to implement a database to document disturbed areas, historic snow profiles, accumulation data from AWS, stake farms, surface radar profiles, shallow firn – snow cores.
The SnowAnt Action Group was established in 2014. Its key goals are to:
- Investigate: Improve the knowledge on depositional and metamorphic processes in Antarctic snow and its feedbacks to the climate system; develop a snow classification for Antarctica.
- Protect: What is disturbed today will be in the ice core for the next ~1 My – preserve pristine snow areas; currently disturbed areas have to be mapped and coordinated with national logistic operators.
- Implement: SnowREADER (database) to document disturbed areas, historic snow profiles, accumulation data from AWS, stake farms, surface radar profiles, shallow firn – snow cores.
- Educate and Coordinate: Quantitative snow stratigraphy methods developed by the IACS working group MicroSnow should be implemented by snow schools; recognize the importance of snow for SCAR.