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Recent studies indicate that – due to climate change – the Earth is undergoing rapid changes in all cryospheric components, including polar sea ice shrinkage, mountain glacier recession, thawing permafrost, and diminishing snow cover. The Global Cryosphere provides a comprehensive summary of all components of the Earth's cryosphere, reviewing their history, physical and chemical characteristics, geographical distributions, and projected future states. This new edition has been completely updated throughout and provides state-of-the-art data from GlobSnow-2 CRYOSAT, ICESAT, and GRACE. It includes a comprehensive summary of cryospheric changes in land ice, permafrost, freshwater ice, sea ice, and ice sheets. It discusses the models developed to understand cryosphere processes and predict future changes, including those based on remote sensing, field campaigns, and long-term ground observations. Boasting an extensive bibliography, over 120 figures, and end-of-chapter review questions, it is an ideal resource for students and researchers of the cryosphere.
Preface
Acknowledgements
1. Introduction
Part I. The Terrestrial Cryosphere:
2A. Snowfall and Snow Cover
2B. Avalanches
3. Glaciers and Ice Caps
4. Ice Sheets
5. Frozen Ground and Permafrost
6. Freshwater Ice: Lakes, Rivers and Icings
Part II. The Marine Cryosphere:
7. Sea Ice
8. Ice Shelves and Icebergs
Part III. The Cryosphere Past and Future:
9. The Cryosphere in the Past
10. The Future Cryosphere – Impacts of Global Warming
Part IV. Applications:
11. Applications of Snow and Ice Research
Glossary
References
Index
Roger G. Barry was Director of the National Snow and Ice Data Center (NSIDC) at the University of Colorado, Boulder from 1977 to 2008, and Professor of Geography from 1968 to 2010. He was appointed a University of Colorado Distinguished Professor in 2004. From 2012 to 2014 he was Director of the International CLIVAR Project Office, National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK. He was a Fellow of the American Geophysical Union, and his awards included the Founder's Medal of the Royal Geographical Society, the Nobel Peace Prize (as part of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change team), a Guggenheim Fellow, a Fulbright Fellow, a Humboldt Prize Fellow, and a Foreign Member of the Russian Academy of Environmental Sciences (RAEN). Roger passed away peacefully in Boulder, Colorado in March 2018.
Thian Yew Gan is a professor at the University of Alberta, Canada, research ambassador of the German Academic Exchange Service, a fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers, a LEWI fellow of Hong Kong Baptist University, and a lead author for the Sixth Assessment Report (AR6-WGI) of the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC). Dr Gan is internationally renowned for his innovative contributions to hydroclimatology, cryospheric science, climate change, remote sensing, and water resources management. He has received twelve international fellowships, an award from the Association of Science and Engineering Technology Professionals of Alberta (ASET), and has been a visiting professor to Germany, France, Finland, Switzerland, Sweden, Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Hong Kong, Philippines, Thailand, Australia, New Zealand, and the United States of America.
Reviews of the first edition
"Barry and Gan, with their encyclopedic knowledge and extensive teaching experience have produced an extraordinary text that covers virtually all aspects of Earth's fragile cryosphere [...] it will be highly valued by climatologists, cryospheric scientists, and students engaging in learning about this important component of our changing planet."
– Anne Nolin, Oregon State University
"[...] the first comprehensive account of the cryosphere [...] The breadth and depth of coverage and the outstanding scholarship that has typified Barry's lifelong dedication here unfolds as [a] masterpiece. It will long remain the ultimate reference and teaching source."
– Jack D. Ives, University of California, Davis, and Carleton University, Ottawa
"[...] an indispensable reference work on the topic of snow and ice [...] a truly enlightening work!"
– Ludwig Braun, Commission for Geodesy and Glaciology, Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities
"[...] the most comprehensive presentation of major aspects of the cryosphere [...] No other single book has so successfully integrated the terrestrial cryosphere [...] and the marine cryosphere [...] in such an attractively readable manner [...] As an excellent introductory textbook for all forms of the cryosphere it is well suited for advanced undergraduates and junior graduate students."
– Atsumu Ohmura, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology
"[...] an excellent synoptic perspective of the Earth's cold regions [...] an outstanding introduction to those new to the field. The text should serve as a key reference for upper-level undergraduate instruction and ancillary summary material for graduate-level courses."
– Derrick J. Lampkin, Pennsylvania State University
