Cryosphere: Changes, Impacts and Adaptation

Dear Colleagues,

The cryosphere consists of frozen water and includes lake/river/sea ice, glaciers, ice caps/sheets, snow cover, and permafrost. Because highly reflective snow and ice are the main components of the cryosphere, it plays an important role in the global energy balance. Thus, any qualitative or quantitative change in the physical properties and extents of the cryosphere affects global air circulation, ocean and air temperatures, sea level, and ocean current patterns. Continuous monitoring of cryosphere components is imperative for understanding the complexities of the Climate–Land–Energy–Water nexus in changing the global climate. Large-scale shifts in the areal and altitudinal regimes of cryosphere components are bound to promote disasters and hydrological irregularities at regional scales, further necessitating their worldwide monitoring. Year-round, field-based cryosphere monitoring is limited by several factors, such as a hostile climate, poor approachability, and inadequate skilled labor and funding. In such scenarios, remote sensing coupled with field data collection is largely utilized as a practical alternative in order to meet the growing needs of cryosphere research.

With the continuous advancements in data collection systems in extreme environments, improving imaging and remote sensing platforms, and enhancements in the computational efficiencies of hardware and related software programs, the number of research applications in cryosphere sciences has considerably increased in recent years. Many universities have started dedicated programs or courses on the cryosphere, and well-known international journals have increased the frequency of topics covering cryosphere research.

This topical collection invites multidisciplinary submissions pertaining to studying and assessing changes in cryosphere components, the impacts of these changes on communities, and adaptation strategies for mitigating these impacts in high altitude/high latitude regions. Considering the wide scope of this topic, submissions are open across five major MDPI journals (Atmosphere, Geosciences, Quaternary, Remote Sensing, Water) to encourage contributions in all areas of contemporary/future cryosphere research. The topics are not only limited to terrestrial glacial/periglacial landscapes but will be equally interesting for planetary researchers working on the ice–debris complexes or other glacial geomorphological aspects of planets such as Mars. The topics can be related (but not restricted) to the use of field-based techniques and/or spaceborne/aerial/terrestrial remote sensing for cryosphere mapping/modeling, quantification of areal and volumetric changes, glacio-hydrology, dynamics, glacial or periglacial geomorphology, cryoseismology, glacial/cryosphere hazards, and synergy between fieldwork and remote sensing.

We look forward to your excellent contributions!

Dr. Anshuman Bhardwaj
Dr. Lydia Sam
Dr. Saeideh Gharehchahi
Topic Editors