WORLD METEOROLOGICAL ORGANIZATION

• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2012
• Subjects: Ice; permafrost; Sea ice
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.433.6048; http://www.wmo.int/pages/prog/www/OSY/Reports/GCW-IM-1_FinalReport_rev1.pdf

1. The cryosphere collectively describes elements of the Earth System containing water in its frozen state and includes solid precipitation, snow cover, sea ice, lake and river ice, glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, permafrost, and seasonally frozen ground. The cryosphere is global, existing at all latitudes and in approximately 100 countries. Recognizing the growing demand for authoritative information on past, present and future state of the world’s snow and ice resources, WMO Congress decided in 2007 to embark on the development of the Global Cryosphere Watch (GCW), in collaboration with other WMO programmes and international partner organizations and programmes. In 2011, the Sixteenth WMO Congress decided to implement GCW. The First Implementation Meeting of the Global Cryosphere Watch (GCW) was held at WMO Headquarters, Geneva, Switzerland 21-24 November