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Looking for facts and information? See About the Cryosphere.
On Thin Ice:
Expedition to a Crumbling Ice Shelf
Scientists blog from Antarctica and provide a glimpse of what it's like to do research in the field. Read their blog ...
Current Conditions
Icelights: Answers to your burning questions about ice and climate
What's hot in the news around climate and sea ice and what are scientists talking about now? Read more...
What is the Cryosphere?
When scientists talk about the cryosphere, they mean the places on Earth where water is in its solid form, frozen into ice or snow. Read more ...
A glacier retreats when its terminus does not extend as far downvalley as it previously did. Glaciers may retreat when their ice melts or ablates more quickly than snowfall can accumulate and form new glacial ice. Higher temperatures and less snowfall have been causing many glaciers around the world to retreat recently.
Last updated: 16 March 2020
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