This is the first textbook to consider all aspects of the cryosphere system in the context of global environmental change driven by human activity and climate. Considers all six aspects of the cryosphere – ice sheets, glacier ice, permafrost, river and lake ice, sea ice and snow – in the context of global environmental change driven by human activity and climate. Describes a new concept of cryosphere transience and landscape transition which links climate, hydrology, ecology and geomorphology. Looks at the evidence, process, and patterns of cryosphere change, on local and global scales. Provides a wealth of data to inform the current global environmental change debate. Additional resources for this book can be found at: http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?action=index&bcsId=5064&itemId=140512976X.