Formation and Development of the Cryosphere

The cryosphere is a sphere on the earth’s surface with a certain thickness, where temperature is continuously distributed below the freezing point. All the processes related to frozen water taken place on the Earth surface naturally are attributed as the formation processes of the cryosphere. It mainly includes the accumulation and transformation of solid precipitation, which forms snow cover and glaciers; the freezing of surface water, which attributed to the formation of sea ice, lake ice and river ice; and the formation and transformation of ground ice, which are mainly related to the formation of frozen ground.