Climate change has a significant impact on the amount, spatial and temporal distribution of the cryosphere (snow, glaciers, permafrost), and associated water resources in different regions of the world. Several studies show that the response of the cryosphere to climate change is not only an effect of temperature change, but depends on several factors such as geographical location (climate zone), latitude and regional atmospheric forcing (e.g. interaction with synoptic-scale atmospheric currents), among others. However, observational capacity and process understanding of these interactions vary considerably within and between regions. For example, despite the importance of snow in mountainous regions, a comprehensive global inventory of mountain snow based on robust data is still lacking. Filling this research gap is one of the main motivations for the Joint Body “Status of Snow Cover in Mountain Regions”, a joint effort of IACS, WMO and the MRI.

The aim of the session is to bring together the knowledge and experience of researchers from and working in different regions of the world (e.g. mountains, and polar regions, such as theArctic) working on similar topics related to climate-induced changes in the cryosphere. An expected outcome of the session is therefore to take stock and present the current state of knowledge and to identify research gaps that may be useful for future work. Given the overall importance of the cryosphere for ecology, economy and human life in general, researchers from different and also interdisciplinary fields are invited to contribute, for all regions of the world and using a variety of data sources and analytical methods (including modelling experiments, in situ observations, satellite products or reanalysis data).