Both the increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases and potential changes in cloud distributions are likely to affect the surface energy budget of the polar regions. Changes in the polar atmosphere are linked to dynamical processes that control the transport of mass, heat, and moisture from lower latitudes and in turn, feed back into the global circulation. Radiation and meteorological data collected at the South Pole during the 1986 austral winter are analyzed to gain a better understanding of the relationships between cloud radiative effects, transport processes and the vertical distribution of temperature and wind. An algorithm is developed to characterize the quasi-permanent surface-based temperature inversion and the ''warm'' radiatively active layer above it. Mean winter temperature and wind profiles for clear and overcast conditions are combined with surface radiation measurements and synoptic circulation patterns to study the mechanisms that cause periodic weakening of the inversion. Results support previous studies that ascribe this weakening to (1) warm air advection, (2) downward vertical mixing of sensible and latent heat, and (3) longwave cloud radiative heating. The integrity of the inversion depends on the combined effects of all three mechanisms. Parameters representing the intensity of the inversion and the bulk wind shear through the lower troposphere are suggested as appropriate indices for the detection of climate change in the region of the Antarctic Plateau. ¿1991 American Geophysical Union