The purpose of this course is providing a deep knowledge of the features of the cryosphere, with particular emphasis on ice sheets, temperate glaciers and permafrost. Interactions between the cryosphere and the global climate will be investigated, as well as the significance of the cryosphere as a marker of climate trends, to be employed in the assessment of future scenarios. Methods for cryosphere monitoring will be focused on, both in the short-mid and in the long term.

Syllabus: glaciers, ice sheets, permafrost, glaciers fluctuations, mass balance, rock glacier, monitoring.