Modeling of the Cryosphere in the ENCYCLOPEDIA OF SUSTAINABILITY SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY section on Climate Change Modeling and Methodology

Article Outline Glossary Definition of the Subject Introduction Several full numbered sections Future Directions Bibliography Glossary Ablation. Snow and ice removed from an ice mass via meltwater runoff, sublimation, wind scour, or glacial calving (mechanical fracturing and separation). Accretion. Increase in ice mass by basal growth in the case of floating ice, the compression of snow into ice, or freezing of water that has pooled on the ice or percolated into snow from rain, meltwater, or flooding of sea/lake/river water. Accumulation. Snow and ice added to an ice mass via snowfall, frost deposition, rainfall that freezes on/in the ice mass, refrozen meltwater, wind-blown snow deposition, and avalanching. Mass Balance. The overall gain or loss of mass for a component of the cryosphere over a specified time interval, typically one year. This can be expressed as a rate of change of mass (kg yr −1), ice volume (m 3 yr −1), or water-equivalent volume (m 3 w.eq. yr −1). It is also common to express this as the area-averaged rate of change or the specific mass balance rate, with units of kg m −2 yr −1 or m w.eq. yr −1. Glacier. A perennial terrestrial ice mass that shows evidence of motion/deformation under gravity. Grounding Line. The transition zone between grounded and floating ice.