Why is there so much snow in Antarctica and it doesn't precipitate a lot?

Answer 1

It's complex:

http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/science/meteorology.shtml

"The Antarctic continent is named for "opposite of the Arctic" and is literally in many ways quite different from its northern counterpart. The Arctic consists of the ice-covered Arctic Ocean surrounded by many islands and the northern fringes of the Asian and North American continents. On the other hand, Antarctica is a high, ice-covered land mass surrounded by the southern extensions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans. As a result of these differences, the climates of the two regions are very different.

# Precipitation, nearly all as snow, occurs frequently over much of Antarctica, but is light.

# The total fall varies considerably from year to year. The scantiness of the snowfall is evident on the polar plateau, where over large areas annual amounts are less than 3 centimeters (water-equivalent).

# Annual snow accumulation on Ross Island averages 17.6 centimeters in water equivalent, but accumulation over the polar plateau to the west of the Dry Valleys is considerably less.

# Within the Dry Valleys most of the snowfall is associated with humid easterly winds blowing off the Ross Sea.

# More solar radiation reaches the surface at the South Pole than is received at the equator in an equivalent period.

# Total annual radiation at the South Pole is about equal to that received in equatorial regions, despite there being 6 months of "night."

# This is largely explained by the continent's high elevation, and its thin atmosphere, and by the air's unusual clarity.

# MOST OF THIS HEAT IS REFLECTED BACK INTO THE ATMOSPHERE BY THE SNOW-COVERED ICE SHEET AND THE GREATER EXPANSE OF SEA ICE." (emphasis added)