SCIENCENVIRO (Opinion): South Pole

The first Indian expedition to the South Pole successfully reached the Pole last year, almost a century (99 years to be precise) after the Norwegian Roald Amundsen became the first human to reach the southernmost point of the Earth.
The eight-member team left the Indian base station Maitri situated in an ice-free area known as the Schirmacher Oasis on November 13, 2010 and reached the South Pole in nine days on November 22, 2010 in special vehicles got from Iceland
Dr. Ravindra is the Director of the Goa-based National Centre for Antarctic and Ocean Research (NCAOR) and leads the camp..
Even in the comfort of the special vehicle, the 2,500-long journey was not a joy ride. “The terrain makes it difficult to travel,”
After all, the base station is almost at sea level and the South Pole is at an elevation of nearly 2,500 metres.
And the result is a blizzard or snow storm, just like sand storms in deserts.
Extra-tropical low-pressure systems always move from west to east in the coastal region. The warm and moist air from lower latitudes mixes with dry, cold wind in the higher latitudes. When this happens the temperature increases gradually. When the wind speed goes beyond 40 kmph loose snow gets lifted. The end result is a blizzard.
Blizzards are restricted to coastal regions in the lower latitudes (60 to 70 degree South) and are not seen in higher latitudes (near the Pole).