Skip Navigation
Button that takes you to the Dinosaur Floor page.Button that takes you to the Earth Floor page.Button that takes you to the Resource Room page.Button that takes you to the Teacher's Lounge page.Button that takes you to the Elevator page.
     

Image that says Spheres. Image of the Earth.

Cryosphere
Next we add the cryosphere! Brrrrrr! What's with all that ice and snow! Most ice on Earth is found near the poles as giant icecaps in Greenland and Antarctica, and as icebergs at sea. Ice is also found as glaciers and snow in the mountains, and maybe in your neighborhood in winter. Did you know that when you hold an ice cube in your hand, you are holding a tiny part of the Cryosphere?

Earth's cryosphere has changed in size many times in Earth's past. Right now, most of the world's ice is mostly far to the north or south of us. But in times past, even as recently as 12,000 years ago, Earth's climate was much colder, and huge sheets of ice covered much of North America and Europe during a great " Ice Age." These huge ice sheets left hills, ridges, lakes, and groove marks on rocks all though New England, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and the Dakotas. Yet at the time of the dinosaurs, Earth's climate was much warmer, and all of the ice caps melted and disappeared.

Back | Next

 

 


Image that says Earth Floor.
Button that takes you to the Diversity page.
Button that takes you to the Adaptation page.
Button that takes you to the Plate Tectonics page.
 Button that takes you to the Cycles page.
Button that takes you to the Spheres page.
Button that takes you to the Biomes page.
Button that takes you to the Geologic Time page.

Spheres
Lithosphere
Hydrosphere
Image of a star. Cryosphere
Biosphere
Atmosphere
Exosphere
Exact Spheres
 
             
     
Button that takes you to the Exploring the Environment home page.

Spheres | Lithosphere | Hydrosphere | Cryosphere | Biosphere | Atmosphere | Exosphere | Exact Spheres

Diversity | Adaptation | Plate Tectonics | Cycles | Spheres | Biomes | Geologic Time

  Image of a castle that links back to the MSESE home page.  
Button that takes you to the Dinosaur Floor page.Button that takes you to the Earth Floor page.Button that takes you to the Resource Room page.Button that takes you to the Teacher's Lounge page.Button that takes you to the Elevator page.

Site maintained by the ETE Team
Last updated on
April 28, 2005

Some images © 2004 www.clipart.com

Privacy Statement and Copyright © 1997-2004 by Wheeling Jesuit University/NASA-supported Classroom of the Future. All rights reserved.

Center for Educational Technologies, Circuit Board/Apple graphic logo, and COTF Classroom of the Future logo are registered trademarks of Wheeling Jesuit University.