cryosphere

Also known as chinosphere

thumb|right|300px|Overview of the cryosphere and its larger components The cryosphere is an umbrella term for those portions of Earth's surface where water is in solid form. This includes sea ice, ice on lakes or rivers, snow, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, and frozen ground (which includes permafrost). Thus, there is an 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, atmospher

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The cryosphere is the name for all the frozen water found on Earth's surface, including sea ice, snow, glaciers, ice sheets, and permafrost. It plays a crucial role in regulating Earth's climate system through its effects on energy, moisture, clouds, and the water cycle.

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Image: Components of the Cryosphere.tif

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Commons category: Cryosphere

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~16 min read

Article

21 sections

Contents

Definition and terminology
Properties and interactions
Residence time and extent
Surface reflectance
Thermal properties of cryospheric elements
Climate change feedback mechanisms
Components
Glaciers and ice sheets
Sea ice
Frozen ground and permafrost
Snow cover
Ice on lakes and rivers
Changes caused by climate change
Ice sheet melt
Decline of glaciers
Sea ice decline
Permafrost thaw
Snow cover decrease
See also
References
External links

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. Current reductions in the cryosphere (caused by climate change) are measurable in ice sheet melt, glaciers decline, sea ice decline, permafrost thaw and snow cover decrease.