Despite appearances, very little snow falls here. The streams and lakes in Taylor Valley have to rely on glaciers for their water, not snow. Snowfall in the valley usually turns directly to water vapor before melting, a process called sublimation. Unlike glaciers found in the United States, very little snow falls on the ice here, only a few inches a year. We're in a polar desert, like the rest of Antarctica.
Glaciers typically lose only a few inches of ice per year.
Unlike ones in North America, these end in cliffs 60 to 70 feet high. Although cracks, or crevasses, are typical in most U.S. glaciers, few are seen here. What little melt water appears on the surface fills the cracks, then freezes. The temperature of glaciers here is about minus 4 degrees Fahrenheit, whereas in the United States they're closer to 32 degrees because of the warm annual temperatures in the mountains. We're trying Karen Lewis and Patrick Bardel measure snow depth next to Canada Glacier.