Co-editors-in-chief: Chris Derksen, Christian Haas, Christian Hauck, Nanna Bjørnholt Karlsson & Thomas Mölg
eISSN: TC 1994-0424, TCD 1994-0440
The Cryosphere (TC) is a not-for-profit international scientific journal dedicated to the publication and discussion of research articles, short communications, and review papers on all aspects of frozen water and frozen ground on Earth and on other planetary bodies.
The main subject areas are ice sheets and glaciers, permafrost, river and lake ice, seasonal snow cover, and sea ice, including remote sensing, numerical modeling, in situ, and laboratory approaches, and studies of the interaction of the cryosphere with the Earth system. Manuscripts with a focus on cryospheric research that include perspectives from social science, humanities, and other disciplines outside the natural sciences are also welcome.
Journal metrics
TC is indexed in the Web of Science, Scopus, Google Scholar, etc. We refrain from displaying the journal metrics prominently on the landing page since citation metrics used in isolation do not describe importance, impact, or quality of a journal. However, these metrics can be found on the journal metrics page.
News
07 Aug 2025
New radar altimetry datasets of Greenland and Antarctic surface elevation, 1991–2012
Increasing melting rates of the polar ice sheets are contributing more and more to sea level rise. Due to the remoteness and expanse of ice sheets, these changes are mainly observed using satellites. However, the accuracy of these measurements depends on the processing of these datasets. Here the authors use advanced algorithms to provide improved historical ice sheet elevation measurements, derived from satellite altimeters flying between 1991 and 2012, which will benefit cryospheric applications. Please read more. 
07 Aug 2025
New radar altimetry datasets of Greenland and Antarctic surface elevation, 1991–2012
Increasing melting rates of the polar ice sheets are contributing more and more to sea level rise. Due to the remoteness and expanse of ice sheets, these changes are mainly observed using satellites. However, the accuracy of these measurements depends on the processing of these datasets. Here the authors use advanced algorithms to provide improved historical ice sheet elevation measurements, derived from satellite altimeters flying between 1991 and 2012, which will benefit cryospheric applications. Please read more. 
15 Aug 2025
Estimation of duration and its changes in Lagrangian observations relying on ice floes in the Arctic Ocean utilizing a sea ice motion product
Fanyi Zhang, Ruibo Lei, Meng Qu, Na Li, Ying Chen, and Xiaoping Pang
The Cryosphere, 19, 3065–3087, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3065-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3065-2025, 2025
Short summary
14 Aug 2025
| Highlight paper
Insights into supraglacial lake drainage dynamics: triangular fracture formation, reactivation and long-lasting englacial features
Angelika Humbert, Veit Helm, Ole Zeising, Niklas Neckel, Matthias H. Braun, Shfaqat Abbas Khan, Martin Rückamp, Holger Steeb, Julia Sohn, Matthias Bohnen, and Ralf Müller
The Cryosphere, 19, 3009–3032, https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3009-2025,https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-3009-2025, 2025
Short summary
14 Aug 2025
Explicit representation of liquid water retention over bare ice using the SURFEX/ISBA-Crocus model: implications for mass balance at Mera glacier (Nepal)
Audrey Goutard, Marion Réveillet, Fanny Brun, Delphine Six, Kevin Fourteau, Charles Amory, Xavier Fettweis, Mathieu Fructus, Arbindra Khadka, and Matthieu Lafaysse
EGUsphere, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2947,https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-2025-2947, 2025
Preprint under review for TC (discussion: open, 0 comments)
Short summary
Notice on the current situation in Ukraine
To show our support for Ukraine, all fees for papers from authors (first or corresponding authors) affiliated to Ukrainian institutions are automatically waived, regardless if these papers are co-authored by scientists affiliated to Russian and/or Belarusian institutions. The only exception will be if the corresponding author or first contact (contractual partner of Copernicus) are from a Russian and/or Belarusian institution, in that case the APCs are not waived.
In accordance with current European restrictions, Copernicus Publications does not step into business relations with and issue APC-invoices (articles processing charges) to Russian and Belarusian institutions. The peer-review process and scientific exchange of our journals including preprint posting is not affected. However, these restrictions require that the first contact (contractual partner of Copernicus) has an affiliation and invoice address outside Russia or Belarus.