As a result of global atmospheric warming, all components of Earth´s cryosphere are now changing at a dramatic pace. More than a quarter of the planet´s land surface receives snow precipitation each year and declining snow cover in many parts of the world is causing concern for the future of wintertime recreation activities. Water stored as snow and ice makes a critical contribution to the world’s available freshwater supply and is essential to the sustenance of natural ecosystems, agriculture and human societies. Mass loss continues from glaciers and ice fields in all mountainous regions of the world and from Arctic and sub-Arctic ice caps. The two large ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica are major contributors to rising sea-level and are now beginning to show signs of irreversible mass loss. The areal extent and thickness of Arctic sea ice cover continues to decline and the resulting albedo changes are now believed to affect winter weather patterns in North America and Eurasia. Increasing attention is being given to hazards due to thinning of lake and river ice cover and permafrost degradation, including slope failure, which calls for increased in situ monitoring and the development of new remote sensing techniques.

This symposium will bring together scientists, stakeholders and policy makers for a discussion on the latest results from studies of the entire cryosphere, which plays an important role in the hydrological cycle and the Earth System and is one of the most useful indicators of climate change. The symposium will allow ample time for panel discussions on scientific results, new technologies, research gaps and future perspectives in the light of the Paris Agreement, which calls for limiting global warming to 1.5–2°C.

Further Information can be found on the conference website: https://www.cryosphere2020.is