Cryosphere

The cryosphere (from the Greek κρύος kryos, "cold", "frost" or "ice" and σφαῖρα sphaira, "globe, ball"^[2]) is an all-encompassing term for the portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form, including sea ice, lake ice, river ice, snow cover, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Thus, there is a wide overlap with the hydrosphere. The cryosphere is an integral part of the global climate system. It also has important feedbacks on the climate system. These feedbacks come from the cryosphere's influence on surface energy and moisture fluxes, clouds, the water cycle, atmospheric and oceanic circulation.

Through these feedback processes, the cryosphere plays a significant role in the global climate and in climate model response to global changes. Approximately 10% of the Earth's surface is covered by ice, but this is rapidly decreasing.^[3] Current reductions in the cryosphere (caused by climate change) are visible in ice sheet melt, glaciers decline, sea ice decline, permafrost thaw and snow cover decrease.

^ "Cryosphere - Maps and Graphics at UNEP/GRID-Arendal". 2007-08-26. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2023-09-25.
^ σφαῖρα Archived 2017-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus
^ "Global Ice Viewer – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". climate.nasa.gov. Retrieved 27 November 2021.

[1] "Cryosphere - Maps and Graphics at UNEP/GRID-Arendal". 2007-08-26. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. Retrieved 2023-09-25.

[2] σφαῖρα Archived 2017-05-10 at the Wayback Machine, Henry George Liddell, Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon, on Perseus

[3] "Global Ice Viewer – Climate Change: Vital Signs of the Planet". climate.nasa.gov. Retrieved 27 November 2021.

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