
Dear Tom,
The coldest temperature recorded in Antarctica is -129 degrees, and carbon
dioxide (CO2) freezes at -71. Has it ever snowed CO2 in Antarctica, or is
the percent of CO2 too low?
Alison Drabik, Oak Forest
Dear Alison,
Indeed, CO2 gas freezes at -71 degrees and winter temperatures in Antarctica
routinely drop below that frigid value, and on rare occasions in the Arctic
as well.
Meteorologist David Cook in the Climate Research Section at Argonne National
Laboratory in DuPage County says, "Certainly, at least some of the CO2 in
the atmosphere at the poles does freeze out (of the air) during the winter.
However, there is not enough frozen out to accumulate to any extent." This
is because Antarctic temperatures, as bitterly cold as they are, do not
remain below -71 degrees for much of the year. Also, atmospheric CO2
concentration is vanishingly sparse, at a meager 0.0385 percent.
WGN-TV Chief Meteorologist Tom Skilling and the WGN Weather Center staff provide daily coverage of weather in the Chicago area.
