The violent wind that blows northward from the Adelie Coast of Antarctica has been a meteorological mystery since it was first studied by Sir Douglas Mawson in 1912. In winter it often blows for long periods at 90 m.p.h., and gusts may reach 200 m.p.h. While the wind is roaring on the Adelie Coast, the air may be almost calm in McMurdo Sound, just to the east.
The localness of the Adelie wind suggested that it might be caused by some peculiar topographical feature in inland Antarctica, but no one was sure until U.S. Navy airplanes recently explored the region between the...
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