--- title: "Earth's Frozen Water" description: "Understand the cryosphere, Earth's frozen parts, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice and frozen ground. Glaciers, ice sheets and permanent snow store about 69% of Earth's fresh water. Trace " canonical: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/earths-frozen-water-mt_cMmG8VLbAp source: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/earths-frozen-water-mt_cMmG8VLbAp.md retrieved: 2026-11-12 --- > **Agent view.** This is the Markdown twin of the page, for tools and assistants. > When to use this site, and the call that answers each job: https://lightmysky.com/agent-instructions.md > API description (OpenAPI 3.1): https://lightmysky.com/openapi.json · Authentication: https://lightmysky.com/auth.md > Pricing: https://lightmysky.com/pricing.md · Catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms.txt · Full catalog: https://lightmysky.com/llms-full.txt > Every machine-readable file on this domain: https://lightmysky.com/.well-known/ai-catalog.json > Ask for Markdown with `Accept: text/markdown`, a `.md` address, or `?mode=agent`. # Earth's Frozen Water Understand the cryosphere, Earth's frozen parts, including snow, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice and frozen ground. Glaciers, ice sheets and permanent snow store about 69% of Earth's fresh water. Trace snow and meltwater through the water cycle. Distinguish melting land ice, which adds ocean water, from melting floating sea ice. Complete melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets could raise average global sea level by more than 65 metres. Subject: Science · Area: Polar Regions · Ages 9 to 11 Page: https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/earths-frozen-water-mt_cMmG8VLbAp ## Ready when they can - Define the cryosphere as Earth's frozen parts and name snow, glaciers, ice sheets, sea ice and frozen ground, including permafrost - State that glaciers, ice sheets and permanent snow store about 69% of Earth's fresh water - Trace snow and meltwater through the water cycle and explain the sea-level effects of melting land ice compared with floating sea ice ## Lesson: Earth's Frozen Water You have learned about glaciers and ice sheets. These belong to the cryosphere, Earth's frozen parts. Snow, sea ice and frozen ground belong too. Permafrost is ground that stays at or below 0 degrees Celsius for at least two years. It may contain ice, but soil and rock are not themselves frozen water. Ocean currents move liquid water. *(drawing: Glaciers, ice sheets and permanent snow hold about 69% of Earth's fresh water. Other stores hold about 31%, mostly underground.)* 69% means about 69 parts out of 100. That is more than all the other freshwater stores together. Not all the remaining water is easy to use. To find what remains in a model, subtract the stored amount from the total. If 7 of 10 counters represent ice, 10 minus 7 leaves 3 counters for other water. Snow can build up into glacier ice. Meltwater can flow into rivers and the ocean. Liquid water can evaporate into vapour. As vapour cools, cloud droplets or ice crystals can form. Water falls as rain or snow, called precipitation. Snow can build up again. The cycle has no fixed beginning, and water may stay frozen for a long time. Melting land ice adds water to the ocean and raises sea level. Floating sea ice already pushes ocean water aside, so melting it has little direct effect on sea level. Complete melting of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets could raise average global sea level by more than 65 metres and flood many coastal places. This is a full-melt scenario, not a forecast for the next few years. **Recap.** The cryosphere includes ice, snow and frozen ground. Most fresh water is stored as ice and snow. Meltwater joins the water cycle, and melting land ice raises sea level. *Lesson text, questions and flashcards written for this dataset.* ## Practice 8 questions on this page, each with its working shown. ## Needs first - [Glaciers & ice sheets](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/glaciers-and-ice-sheets-mt_5_kErPeeNu) ## Optional connections - [The Water Cycle](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/the-water-cycle-mt_fhqVdj4BYr) - [Polar Oceans and World Climate](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/polar-oceans-and-world-climate-mt_g1qgxmlJQ2) ## Opens up - [Reading Ancient Climate Records](https://lightmysky.com/learn/science/reading-ancient-climate-records-mt_olFzbawexJ)