This is the first textbook to address all the components of the Earth's cryosphere – all forms of snow and ice, both terrestrial and marine. It provides a concise but comprehensive summary of snow cover, glaciers, ice sheets, lake and river ice, permafrost, sea ice and icebergs – their past history and projected future state. It is designed for courses at upper undergraduate and graduate level in environmental science, geography, geology, glaciology, hydrology, water resource engineering and ocean sciences. It also provides a superb up-to-date summary for researchers of the cryosphere. The book includes an extensive bibliography, numerous figures and color plates, thematic boxes on selected topics and a glossary. The book builds on courses taught by the authors for many decades at the University of Colorado and the University of Alberta. Whilst there are many existing texts on individual components of the cryosphere, no other textbook covers the whole cryosphere.

‘Barry and Gan, with their encyclopedic knowledge and extensive teaching experience have produced an extraordinary text that covers virtually all aspects of Earth’s fragile cryosphere … it will be highly valued by climatologists, cryospheric scientists, and students engaging in learning about this important component of our changing planet.’

Anne Nolin - Oregon State University

‘… the first comprehensive account of the cryosphere … The breadth and depth of coverage and the outstanding scholarship that has typified Barry’s lifelong dedication here unfolds as [a] masterpiece. It will long remain the ultimate reference and teaching source.’

Jack D. Ives - University of California, Davis, and Carleton University, Ottawa

'… an indispensable reference work on the topic of snow and ice … a truly enlightening work!’

Ludwig Braun - Commission for Geodesy and Glaciology, Bavarian Academy of Sciences and Humanities

‘… the most comprehensive presentation of major aspects of the cryosphere … No other single book has so successfully integrated the terrestrial cryosphere … and the marine cryosphere … in such an attractively readable manner … As an excellent introductory textbook for all forms of the cryosphere it is well suited for advanced undergraduates and junior graduate students.’

Atsumu Ohmura - Swiss Federal Institute of Technology

‘… an excellent synoptic perspective of the Earth's cold regions … an outstanding introduction to those new to the field. The text should serve as a key reference for upper-level undergraduate instruction and ancillary summary material for graduate-level courses.’

Derrick J. Lampkin - Pennsylvania State University

'This book is obviously a unique and valuable reference source for researchers and others wishing to have quick access to the entire field of cryospheric sciences...It is clear that the real strength of the book is its encyclopedic coverage of the cryosphere and the changes that it has undergone and is undergoing. In terms of cost per bit of information, it must be a bargain.'

W. D. Harrison Source: Journal of Glaciology

'By providing this textbook, Roger Barry and Thian Yew Gan have given us exactly what we need, a basis for offering an undergraduate course in polar sciences. I hope that many particular specialists in colleges and universities will start using this textbook in new courses in Cryospheric Sciences, as I am. It will go a long way toward achieving the rightful place of the Cryosphere in the full pantheon of Earth Science. The authors are to be commended for a truly significant contribution to the Cryospheric Sciences community.'

Stephen F. Ackley Source: Journal of Arctic Antarctic and Alpine Research

'… not only required reading for courses at upper undergraduate and graduate level or a handbook for earth science and technology specialists … but also a comprehensive, well thought-over guide into the intriguing frozen world … the clear handling of sometimes difficult issues is the main asset of the book … recommended to all those dealing with theory and practice of cold-climate regions.'

Source: Geologos

'Barry and Gan have neatly answered the need of researchers and teachers alike for a single text to explain and draw common themes from glaciology, ice sheet modelling, snow processes, river ice and permafrost … a detailed and comprehensive work of reference … This is a valuable text for academic staff and would serve very well as a library reference for undergraduates.'

Source: The Holocene

'… this excellent new volume … [is] a major contribution to our understanding of the cryosphere, by combining the authors’ first-hand knowledge of the issues and presenting a synthesis of a vast range of published literature. …[The book is] a superb effort by the authors, and they should be commended for bringing together so many facts and analyses concerning the state of the cryosphere. For those of us who are frequently challenged about the reality and impact of global warming, this book has many of the answers!'

Michael Hambrey Source: Antarctic Science