Abstract
The status of the cryosphere at the beginning of the twenty-first century is presented with respect to its relationship to the climate. Firstly, the physical condition of the Earth’s surface is analyzed to understand how the Earth alone among all planets has a favorable condition for the existence of water in all three phases. Then, the distribution of the four main components of the cryosphere—snow cover, sea ice, permafrost, and glaciers/continental ice sheets, is interpreted in relation to the climates. The geographic distribution of the cryospheric components is to a great extent determined by the energy balance. The principle of the energy balance allows one to identify the energy sources that are expended for the melt. Thus, the rapidly changing status of the current cryosphere can be systematically interpreted.
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