The effects of clouds, the continental ice sheet, and sea ice on the radiation budget in the Antarctic are examined by using Earth Radiation Budget Experiment, International Satellite Cloud Climatology Project, and special sensor microwave/imager data in 1987/1988. The continental ice sheet affects not only the albedo but also the surface temperature because of elevation and hence the outgoing longwave radiation (OLR). The high elevation of the Antarctic continent makes the radiation budget in both polar regions asymmetric. At elevations below 2 km the OLR is reduced at the rate of 5--10 W/m2/km; above 2 km the rate is about 20 W/m2/km. Sea ice, which is a critical climate feedback factor, appears to have less impact on radiation than do clouds. Between 60¿ and 65 ¿S in October, sea ice increases the top of the atmosphere albedo by about 0.2 and reduces the OLR by 7--10 W/m2; this seems smaller than the formal cloud forcing, which increases the albedo by 0.3 and reduces the OLR by 30--40 W/m2. However, these numbers do not fully differentiate the independent effects of sea ice and cloudiness. A more detailed analysis shows that the independent effect of sea ice is as large as clouds, with clouds masking the radiative effect of sea ice by more than one half.¿ 1997 American Geophysical Union