Climate Change and Earth's Cryosphere

By Nancy Atkinson - September 2, 2009 at 7:33 PM UTC | uncategorized

Even though most of us do not live in the polar regions or don't even see icebergs or ice sheets very often, no matter where you live, the snow and ice of the Earth's cryosphere has an impact on your climate. NASA released an amazing new view of Earth's frozen regions today, using visual satellite data to show, among other things, how sea ice is disappearing and glaciers are shrinking. These changes in the cryosphere have had a major impact on global climate, as the cryosphere is interconnected with other parts of the Earth system. Scientists are currently studying just how much the frozen places on Earth affect global warming, and the best way to view the remote icy parts of our planet is from space. This video shows satellite data in action, with striking high definition visuals and charts.

September is the month when the sea ice in the Arctic reaches its minimum annual extent, and that data that can act as an important indicator of long-term changes in the planet's vital ice cover.

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson

Nancy Atkinson is a space journalist and author with a passion for telling the stories of people involved in space exploration and astronomy. She is currently retired from daily writing, but worked at Universe Today for 20 years as a writer and editor. She also contributed articles to The Planetary Society, Ad Astra (National Space Society), New Scientist and many other online outlets.

Her 2019 book, "Eight Years to the Moon: The History of the Apollo Missions,” shares the untold stories of engineers and scientists who worked behind the scenes to make the Apollo program so successful, despite the daunting odds against it. Her first book “Incredible Stories From Space: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the Missions Changing Our View of the Cosmos” (2016) tells the stories of 37 scientists and engineers that work on several current NASA robotic missions to explore the solar system and beyond.

Nancy is also a NASA/JPL Solar System Ambassador, and through this program, she has the opportunity to share her passion of space and astronomy with children and adults through presentations and programs. Nancy's personal website is nancyatkinson.com