Cryosphere

The cryosphere comprises all frozen water components of the Earth system, including glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice, permafrost, and seasonal snow cover. In geodesy, the cryosphere is of particular importance because changes in ice mass and distribution affect the Earth’s gravity field, surface deformation, sea level, and Earth rotation. Space-geodetic techniques such as GNSS, Satellite Laser Ranging (SLR), gravimetry, and radar/laser altimetry are used to monitor cryospheric mass changes and their contribution to global and regional climate-driven processes.