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 ...
Cryosphere Glossary
frost flowers
crystals of ice that form when water vapor becomes a solid (bypassing the liquid phase) and deposits itself on the sea ice surface; frost flowers roughen the surface and dramatically affect its electromagnetic signal.
Close-up view of frost flowers. (Photo courtesy of Don Perovich, U.S. Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory.)