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SH circulation patterns shape Antarctic snowfall

BAM, SAM, and PSA polarities rearrange Antarctic precipitation, with PSA1 explaining ~40% of daily variability in West Antarctica.

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What reanalysis period is used for the circulation indices?

ERA-Interim over 35 years from 1979 to 2013.

What is RACMO2’s horizontal resolution?

27 km, with 40 vertical levels.

How large is the PSA1 precipitation swing in Marie Byrd Land?

The polarity difference exceeds 2.5 times the mean precipitation.

What fraction of West Antarctic daily precipitation variance does PSA1 explain?

About 40%, the largest share among the four modes.

When and how large was Byrd’s biggest RACMO daily snowfall?

29 May 1998, ~0.11 m water equivalent, during PSA2−.

What circulation cocktail produced Law Dome’s wettest RACMO day?

12 July 2009 (~0.27 m we) under BAM+, SAM−, and PSA1−.

How do they define positive versus negative polarity days?

Index greater than 1 or less than −1 (standardized).

What precipitation feature does SAM+ create on the Antarctic Peninsula?

A precipitation shadow on the eastern lee side.

Were there significant annual-mean trends in the four indices?

No statistically significant annual-mean trends over the 35 years.

Which test assesses precipitation differences between polarities?

The Kruskal–Wallis nonparametric ANOVA on ranks.

How many of Law Dome’s six wettest days occurred in SAM−?

Four of the six; none of the top 20 occurred in SAM+.

How much of Plateau annual accumulation can blocking deliver in a few days?

A significant proportion, about 25%.