Temperature, density and accumulation data were obtained from shallow firn cores,
drilled during an overland traverse through a previously unknown part of
Dronning Maud Land, East Antarctica. The traverse area is characterised by high
mountains that obstruct the ice flow, resulting in a sudden transition from the
polar plateau to the coastal region. The spatial variations of potential
temperature, near-surface firn density and accumulation suggest that katabatic
winds are active in this region. Proxy wind data derived from firn-density
profiles confirm that annual mean wind speed is strongly related to the
magnitude of the surface slope. The high elevation of the ice sheet south of the
mountains makes for a dry, cold climate, in which mass loss owing to sublimation
is small and erosion of snow by the wind has a potentially large impact on the
surface mass balance. A simple katabatic-wind model is used to explain the
variations of accumulation along the traverse line in terms of
divergence/convergence of the local transport of drifting snow. The resulting
wind- and snowdrift patterns are closely connected to the topography of the ice
sheet: ridges are especially sensitive to erosion, while ice streams and other
depressions act as collectors of drifting snow.