Water

Cryosphere

Similarly to the hydrosphere, that includes all the planet’s water in the liquid state, in any area and in any form that it may be present, or to the biosphere that consists of all the living organisms whatever kingdom they belong to, and whatever area they may live in, the cryosphere includes all the Earth’s ice. When we think of ice, the image that comes to our mind is that of the clean twinkling stretches of the glaciers, however the Earth’s ice may be found in many other forms, which at times are also well “hidden” and, surprisingly, also in unexpected geographic areas such as the centre of Africa! Almost all the Earth’s ice consists of ice from glaciers or sea ice. Large quantities of frozen ice can also be found in the permafrost areas, trapped in the ground and in the rock crevices, but, as they cannot be seen directly, it is very difficult to quantify their volume and extension. Also caves can contain ice deposits, at times with the characteristics of glacier ice, more often with ice that formed by freezing: generally these are rather small quantities, but they represent a very precious data bank of the climate of the past.