Lecture 6

Earth Systems:
Cryosphere

Dr. K. Vijaya Kumar

School of Earth Sciences

SRTM University, Nanded – 431 606

Maharashtra, INDIA

(E-mail: vijay_kumar92@hotmail.com)
Cryosphere: An Introduction
Cryosphere is composed of frozen water in ice, snow and in frozen ground.
The cryosphere makes-up approximately 2% of the water on Earth. Glacial
ice sheets found in Greenland (can be 3 km in thickness) of the north and
Antarctica (3.6 km or more in maximum thickness) of the south currently
make 95% of the total cryosphere. Glacial ice sheets are the main regulators
of global sea level. If all the ice sheets would melt, the sea level would rise up
73 meters, presuming that their area is restricted to the present state. Polar
snow fall and polar temperature are the two most important regulators of
glacial ice sheets. Snow and ice on high mountains are important fresh water
resources. Cryosphere fluctuates through geologic time (glaciation vs.
deglaciation).
Where’s the Ice and how it is formed?
Two ways n which H2O occurs in solid state is either away from the equator
towards poles (Antarctica and Greenland) and with increasing elevation from
mean sea level (Himalayan Glaciers). For example, Antarctica froze after it
split from South America 34M years ago.

Cryosphere influence on Climate and

Cryosphere response to global warming

During Northern Hemisphere winter, ice and snow (a) blanket up to

15% of the Earth’s surface and (b) reflect up to 80% of the Sun’s radiant
energy back to space. During the Southern Hemisphere winter, they cover
about half this area. But their influence is far larger than their areal coverage
would indicate.

Global warming should decrease Earth’s snow and ice cover, which in
turn would increase the absorption of solar radiation, amplifying the warming
(a positive feedback). The melt-back of sea ice would also increase the ocean
heat flux to the atmosphere, again amplifying the warming. It would also
increase the vapor flux to the atmosphere, which might enhance clouds.
Static response of cryosphere to the global warming would be through simple
mass balancing. Due to global warming, atmosphere and ocean temperatures
would increase, which increases the rate of melting of ice sheets. However, due
to global warming there would be higher evaporation consequently higher
precipitation. This would result in counteracting melting of the ice sheets.

As increase in temperatures due to global warming not only results in melting

but also makes it softer thereby increases the flow rate of ice. Ice is
transported to lower elevations, which results in enhanced melting of the ice
sheets.
Changes in the Cryosphere during the 20th Century

In the recent times, it has been vehemently argued that the earth is
experiencing global warming and the rate of melting of glaciers and ice sheets
has accelerated. Nevertheless, it is evident from the above figure that there are
domains on the globe which are experiencing cooling alongside warming. But
on an average scale, global warming seems to be a reality.
Evidences for Ice-sheet melting
When recent glacier/ice-sheet volume data is compared to that of 1950s, it is
evident that almost all the regions on the earth have experienced decrease in
the volumes of ice sheets and glacier masses. Ice cores of Antarctica and
Greenland provide robust evidence for melting of ice and the data also
predicts an increase of 0.5 mm/year sea-level rise.
Glacial and Interglacial Cycles
Solar radiation varies smoothly through time with a strong cyclicity of ~23,000 years, as
seen in the time-series of July incoming solar radiation at 65°N. In contrast, glacial-
interglacial cycles last ~100,000 years and consist of stepwise cooling events followed
by rapid warmings, as seen in this time-series inferred from hydrogen isotopes in the
Dome Fuji ice core from Antarctica. Atmospheric CO2 measured from bubbles in Dome
Fuji ice shows the same pattern as the temperature time-series.

Atmospheric temperatures from the ice cores are calculated based on

oxygen isotopic data. Δ18O (0/00) in the ice cores and temperature have a
positive relationship (see figure below). Once we measure oxygen isotopes for
the ice cores, and then based on this relationship between Temperature and
δD/δ18O atmospheric temperatures can be calculated.
 Large, continental ice-sheets in the Northern Hemisphere have grown
and retreated many times in the past. Times with large ice-sheets are known
as glacial periods (or ice ages) and times without large ice-sheets are
interglacial periods. The most recent glacial period occurred between about
120,000 and 11,500 years ago. Since then, the Earth has been in an interglacial
period called the Holocene. Glacial periods are colder, dustier and generally
drier than interglacial periods. These glacial-interglacial cycles are apparent
in many marine and terrestrial paleoclimate records from around the world.
Interglacial periods tend to occur during periods of peak solar radiation in the
Northern Hemisphere summer. However, full interglacials occur only about
every fifth peak in the precession cycle.

In Summary...........
2% of the water on Earth is locked in Cryosphere.

90% cryosphere is within Antarctica and Greenland

Volume of Cryosphere is decreasing with time

Antarctica and Greenland Ice cores indicate the cyclic behaviour of

Glaciations (Glacial and Interglacial periods), based on oxygen and carbon
isotope compositions and CO2 and CH4 concentrations.