-Cold Environments
What?
The cryosphere means that because some areas of the earth are so cold that water is a solid—ice or snow. Scientists call these frozen places of our planet the "cryosphere." The word "cryosphere" comes from the Greek word for cold, "kryos."
Snow, ice, or both are key ingredients in every aspect of the cryosphere, including sea ice, glaciers, ice shelves, icebergs, and frozen ground.

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Snow is precipitation made up of ice crystals. When cold temperatures and high humidity levels combine in the atmosphere, snow crystals form. As long as air temperature remains below freezing, the crystals will fall to the Earth as snow. Snow: 1. can be found all over the world, even near the equator at high elevations 2. reflects sunlight and affects our planet’s climate 3. provides a habitat for some animals and plants 4. supplies water for people, plants, and animals around the world 5. is an important part of the world’s climate.

Where?
When scientists talk about the cryosphere, they mean the places where water is in its solid form, where low temperatures freeze water and turn it into ice.
People most often think of the cryosphere as being at the top and bottom of our planet, in the polar regions. We call the area around the North Pole the Arctic and the area around the South Pole the | Sea ice is one important aspect of both the Arctic region and Antarctica. |
Antarctic. But snow and ice are also found at many other