Morphodynamics of snow barchans at Concordia Station, Antarctica

Authors

  • Marine Poizat Geological Survey of Finland (GTK), Espoo, Finland https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8022-2791
  • Jeanne Alkalla Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Paris, France https://orcid.org/0009-0007-1460-2079
  • Ghislain Picard IGE, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, France https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1475-5853
  • Laurent Arnaud IGE, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, France
  • Daniel J. Nowacki U.S. Geological Survey, Pacific Coastal and Marine Science Center, Santa Cruz, California, USA https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7015-3710
  • Simon Filhol Météo-France, CNRS, Univ. Grenoble Alpes, Univ. Toulouse, CNRM, Centre d’Études de la Neige, 38000 Grenoble, France
  • Eric Lefebvre IGE, Université Grenoble Alpes, CNRS, IRD, Grenoble INP, Grenoble, France
  • Clément Narteau Institut de Physique du Globe de Paris, Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Paris, France https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9556-9544

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.59236/geomorphica.v2i2.70

Keywords:

Snow dune, Barchan, Antarctica, Dune morphodynamics, Dune turnover time

Abstract

Barchans are crescent-shaped dunes that form and migrate under unimodal wind regimes in areas of low sediment availability. While sand barchan morphodynamics has been extensively studied, snow barchans remain poorly documented. Here, using hourly time-series images taken near Concordia Station, Antarctica, we measure the sizes (lengths 0.3 m to 13 m, widths 0.4 m to 7.5 m) and migration rates (0.13 m h−1 to 3.5 m h−1) of 44 populations of snow barchans during 2017–2022. We compare this dataset with established height–velocity and length-width relationships for sand barchans in both air and water. Our results show that snow barchans follow the same scaling as sand barchans, allowing us to estimate a characteristic sintering (bonding of snow particles) time of about one day. This sintering process limits the size of snow barchans when active, reduces their aspect ratios, and, once wind falls below the transport threshold, explains their preservation over a few years. During wind events, migrating barchans are too small to maintain their shape and orientation, making them highly responsive to fluctuations in wind direction. Thus, studying snow barchans improves understanding of an elementary bedform encountered in multiple environments and also of the surface properties of snow on different timescales, offering insights into snow accumulation and wind-blown snow in ice cores.

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2026-08-22

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Poizat, M., Alkalla, J., Picard, G., Arnaud, L., Nowacki, D. J., Filhol, S., … Narteau, C. (2026). Morphodynamics of snow barchans at Concordia Station, Antarctica. Geomorphica, 2(2). https://doi.org/10.59236/geomorphica.v2i2.70

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Copyright (c) 2026 Marine Poizat, Jeanne Alkalla, Ghislain Picard, Laurent Arnaud, Daniel J. Nowacki, Simon Filhol, Eric Lefebvre, Clément Narteau

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