cryospheren.
/ˈkrʌɪə(ʊ)sfɪə/, U.S. /ˈkraɪoʊˌsfɪ(ə)r/ Environmental Science.
The part of the earth's surface where water exists as ice; the entire region of the natural environment that is below 0°C, esp. permanently.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > [noun] > geosphere > cryosphere
cryosphere1935
1935 J. Zukriegel Cryologia Maris iii. 71 Ice forms a real envelope around the earth, uniform in composition but diversified in aspect. This icy cover, which Professor Dobrowolski calls cryosphere, is closely related to the hydrosphere, the lithosphere and the atmosphere.
1968 R. W. Fairbridge Encycl. Geomorphol. 227 In some regions of permafrost, the cryosphere penetrates the lithosphere as deep as 600 meters.
1975 Nature 28 Aug. 689/3 The five physical elements of the total climatic system—atmosphere, hydrosphere, cryosphere, lithosphere and biosphere.
2007 Toronto Star (Nexis) 3 Feb. a12 Another federal government scientist..spelled out four instances of how global warming has already transformed the cryosphere.
Derivatives
cryoˈspheric adj.
ΘΚΠ
the world > the earth > structure of the earth > [adjective] > lithosphere > cryosphere
cryospheric1974
1974 U.S. Contrib. Polar Exper. (National Acad. Sci. U.S.A.) II. iii. 18 The dynamics of the circulation in high southern latitudes should be examined with coupled global models of the atmospheric, oceanic, and cryospheric systems.
2007 S. I. Solomon et al. Climate Change 2007 iv. 375/1 The most important cryospheric contributions to sea level variations..arise from changes in the ice on land.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, June 2011; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
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n.1935