Abstract ID: 28.7312 | Accepted as Talk | Talk | 2025-02-27 11:45 - 12:00 | Ágnes‐Heller‐Haus/Small Lecture Room

Changes in snow accumulation on the Antarctic Ice Sheet are of significant relevance to global mean sea level. Measurements taken over a 33-year period near the Neumayer Stations, Dronning Maud Land (DML), Antarctica, were used to statistically analyse both interannual and intraannual trends and variability of snow accumulation. While a significant increases in snow accumulation have been observed at Kohnen Station on the DML plateau in the interior of the continent, the question arises as to whether the coastal measurements near Neumayer show similar trends. This study reveals that two unprecedented accumulation years, 2021 and 2023, were recorded near Neumayer; however, no statistically significant long-term trend could be identified in the time series, which shows several periods of increasing and decreasing mulit-annual means in snow accumulation. Despite this, shifts in certain accumulation characteristics during the study period suggest the possible onset of a positive trend. Specifically, positive annual accumulation anomalies have become more frequent and more intense, the rate of interannual accumulation increase has accelerated, and the current period reflects a prolonged state of above-average accumulation. High interannual variability, however, prevents the identification of a significant trend within the available data period. Periodicities observed in the time series suggest possible links to larger atmospheric patterns, such as the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave. Further research is required to also investigate the role of the major climate modes such as the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) and El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and how these might influence local accumulation trends. This climatological analysis offers valuable data that could be used for future ground-truthing of satellite observations and benchmarking of climate models, especially given the higher temporal resolution of these measurements compared to firn and ice core records.