ABSTRACT. The ra te o f snow a ccumula tion has been m easured a t the U .S.S.R. sta tion situa ted a t th e Pole of Rela tive Inaccessibility (eastern Antarctic plateau) . Five independ ent m ethods were used . The results, expressed in g cm-1 yea r-', a re as follows:( I) Accumulation-stake measurements show a n accumula tion of 3. 1 ± 0.5 in 1965. A m a ximum value of 3.6 for the 6-year interval 1959-65 is d erived from snow-thickn ess m easure m ents.(2) Firn stra tigra ph y was found difficult to interpret in terms of a nnu a l la yers. An upper limit of 12 g cm-1 yea r-I is suggested.(3) ' 8 0 / ' 6 0 ra tios were m easured a long the upper 235 cm . Assuming tha t each m aximum in the isotope profile corresponds to a summer season , the a ccumula ti on would be 8 .6 ± 0.9 .(4) Gross f3 radioa ctivity as a fun ction of d epth was measured on three firn sections. The 1955 ra di oactive fa ll-out hori zon is cl earl y m a rked , ena bling th e d erivation of a n avera ge a ccumula tion of 3 ·0 ± 0. 1. (5) The a vera ge accumula tion over the last 80 years, d erived fro m th e " oPb distribution with d epth, is 3· 1 ± 0· 3 · A multi-annua l avera ge accumula tion rate of (3.0 ± 0. 3) is thus firmly esta blished, as well as the validity of both the lloPb m ethod a nd the 1955 radioactive fall-out horizon m ethod . Stratigra phic studies lead to un certa in results. Oxygen isotope va riations give accumula tion values whi ch a re too high b y a facto r of two a t least .Accumulati on va lues o f th e same order of m agnitud e (2.8 ± 0.2 ) were d eri ved from radioactive fa ll-ou t m easurements a t the U .S. " Pla teau" sta tion. REs mm. D etermination du taux d' accumulation de neige au

ABSTRACT. The ra te o f snow a ccumula tion has been m easured a t the U .S.S.R. sta tion situa ted a t th e Pole of Rela tive Inaccessibility (eastern Antarctic plateau) . Five independ ent m ethods were used . The results, expressed in g cm-1 yea r-', a re as follows:( I) Accumulation-stake measurements show a n accumula tion of 3. 1 ± 0.5 in 1965. A m a ximum value of 3.6 for the 6-year interval 1959-65 is d erived from snow-thickn ess m easure m ents.(2) Firn stra tigra ph y was found difficult to interpret in terms of a nnu a l la yers. An upper limit of 12 g cm-1 yea r-I is suggested.(3) ' 8 0 / ' 6 0 ra tios were m easured a long the upper 235 cm . Assuming tha t each m aximum in the isotope profile corresponds to a summer season , the a ccumula ti on would be 8 .6 ± 0.9 .(4) Gross f3 radioa ctivity as a fun ction of d epth was measured on three firn sections. The 1955 ra di oactive fa ll-out hori zon is cl earl y m a rked , ena bling th e d erivation of a n avera ge a ccumula tion of 3 ·0 ± 0. 1. (5) The a vera ge accumula tion over the last 80 years, d erived fro m th e " oPb distribution with d epth, is 3· 1 ± 0· 3 · A multi-annua l avera ge accumula tion rate of (3.0 ± 0. 3) is thus firmly esta blished, as well as the validity of both the lloPb m ethod a nd the 1955 radioactive fall-out horizon m ethod . Stratigra phic studies lead to un certa in results. Oxygen isotope va riations give accumula tion values whi ch a re too high b y a facto r of two a t least .Accumulati on va lues o f th e same order of m agnitud e (2.8 ± 0.2 ) were d eri ved from radioactive fa ll-ou t m easurements a t the U .S. " Pla teau" sta tion. REs mm. D etermination du taux d' accumulation de neige au