Cryosphere

{
  "id": "MLC-T-ENV-007017",
  "term": "Cryosphere",
  "field": "Environment",
  "definition": "1. One of the interrelated components of the Earth's system, the cryosphere is frozen water in the form of snow, permanently frozen ground (permafrost), floating ice, and glaciers. Fluctuations in the volume of the cryosphere cause changes in ocean sea level, which directly impact the atmosphere and biosphere.\n\n2. The portion of the climate system consisting of the world's ice masses and snow deposits, which includes the continental ice sheets, mountain glaciers, sea ice, surface snow cover, and lake and river ice. Changes in snow cover on the land surfaces are by and large seasonal and closely tied to the mechanics of atmospheric circulation. The glaciers and ice sheets are closely related to the global hydrologic cycle and to variations of sea level and change in volume and extent over periods ranging from hundreds to millions of years.",
  "subject": "Climate change",
  "references": [
    "Glossary of Climate Change Terms",
    "NASA Sustainable Development Indicators Glossary"
  ],
  "url": "https://mlchart.com/terminology/environment/cryosphere/"
}