The surface of Antarctica is continuously shaped by erosion, blowing snow and deposition, resulting in diverse aeolian bedforms akin to those observed in subtropical sand deserts. However, although dunes are universally recognized as a climate and environmental proxy, the properties of snow dunes are not well understood. Here, using satellite images covering most of Antarctica, we report the widespread occurrence (>95% of the area studied) of linear dunes that are between 100 and 1,000 m in length and aligned with the local resultant snow drift direction (61% are longitudinal dunes). On the basis of sand dune theory, we suggest that these snow dunes grow by elongation, often under unidirectional wind regimes. The predominance of the elongating mode indicates a low availability of mobile snow particles. This limited availability prevails at the continental scale due to a subtle balance between snow sintering, which limits erosion, and strong winds, which rapidly remove snowfall. These characteristics result from specific meteorological conditions that distinguish Antarctica from other snow-covered regions, and may shift with future climate changes. We suggest that snow sintering not only influences Antarctic aeolian landform evolution but also regulates the amount of snow sublimated during transport, an uncertain term in the ice-sheet mass balance.

南极洲的表面不断受到侵蚀、吹雪和沉积的影响，形成了类似于亚热带沙漠中观察到的各种风沙床形态。然而，尽管沙丘被普遍认为是气候和环境的代表，但雪沙丘的特性尚不清楚。在这里，我们利用覆盖南极洲大部分地区的卫星图像，报告了长度在 100 至 1,000 米之间且与当地产生的雪流方向一致（61% 是纵向）的线性沙丘的广泛存在（占研究区域的 >95%）。沙丘）。根据沙丘理论，我们认为这些雪丘通常在单向风况下通过伸长生长。拉长模式的主导表明移动雪粒的可用性较低。由于限制侵蚀的积雪和迅速清除降雪的强风之间存在微妙的平衡，这种有限的可用性在大陆范围内普遍存在。这些特征是由将南极洲与其他冰雪覆盖地区区分开来的特定气象条件造成的，并且可能会随着未来的气候变化而发生变化。我们认为，雪的烧结不仅影响南极风沙地貌的演化，而且还调节运输过程中升华的雪量，这是冰盖质量平衡中的一个不确定项。