Abstract
For some time it has been recognised that areas of the Earth’s surface where water is found in its frozen state share characteristics, physical processes, and critical feedbacks with climate. Many scientists have begun to work across the artificial boundaries that, for example, separate ice sheet research from research in ocean processes and sea ice cover. This text will therefore come as a welcome addition to the shelves of many scientists looking for a reference to cover the full range of cryospheric research.
Barry and Gan have neatly answered the need of researchers and teachers alike for a single text to explain and draw common themes from glaciology, ice sheet modelling, snow processes, river ice and permafrost. But not only have they provided the first inclusive account of the cryosphere, they have also brought their considerable experience in research and teaching to make it a detailed and comprehensive work of reference and a thorough review of the last few decades of literature in the subdisciplines. This is a valuable text for academic staff and would serve very well as a library reference for undergraduates.
The book is structured in four parts, part one covering the terrestrial cryosphere including snow, glaciers, ice sheets, permafrost and freshwater ice, and part two covering the marine cryosphere including sea ice, ice shelves and icebergs. These sections deal with each aspect of the cryosphere in a varying amount of detail and give plenty of reference for further reading. Illustrations are plentiful and well-chosen, although it is a shame that such a valuable ready-reference work needs to have the colour plates separated from the text. Part three addresses the place of the cryosphere in past climate change, and draws together the impact on the cryosphere of recent climate change, while the final part provides a valuable addendum that highlights the importance of cryospheric science in non-research applications.
The detail with which the authors discuss the eight cryosphere topics perhaps reflects their expertise as much as the potential global interest. Snow and sea ice feature long and detailed sections while ice sheets and ice shelves have fewer pages devoted to them, which is perhaps surprising considering the global coverage of these aspects of the cryosphere and the importance of recent changes detected within them. I would turn to this text for information on snow processes, but would search elsewhere for an understanding of the dynamics of glaciers and ice sheets from either a modelling or observational perspective, although perhaps this comment is equally biased towards my own expertise. I would hope, for instance, that the coast-to-coast measurements of remotely sensed surface velocity in Greenland and Antarctica, now readily available for download, would be included in a future addition.
Remote sensing naturally provides most of the evidence for understanding cryospheric processes and trends and, as a result, the focus of the book is on the last few decades. Nevertheless geomorphological processes feature strongly throughout, the role of the cryosphere in longer-term climate change is highlighted, and readers of The Holocene will not be disappointed. In summary, this is a timely and weighty reference which I expect to occupy this particular academic niche for many years to come.