Melt ponds occur as pools of fresh water derived from melting snow on the surface of sea ice. Owing to the significant contrast in albedo between ice and water, melt ponds are known to affect the absorption of shortwave radiation and accelerate the rate of ice melt in a positive feedback mechanism. While the occurrence of melt ponds is widely observed and studied in the Arctic, their occurrence on Antarctic sea ice is rare. Several factors inhibit the formation of melt ponds on Antarctic sea ice, including climatological differences between the two poles, sea-ice and snow-cover characteristics, and widespread flooding of the snow/sea-ice interface in Antarctica. A case study of melt-pond formation during the summer of 2004 in McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, is examined to understand the atypical conditions under which the melt ponds formed. These conditions are compared and contrasted with Arctic conditions to assess the future effects of climate change on surface albedo and summer snowmelt. As climatic changes continue to alter the Arctic sea-ice regime, thinner ice and thicker snow cover are expected to mitigate the formation of melt ponds, rather than increase surface summer melting as currently occurs.