These areas are the land component of the cryosphere (i.e. the terrestrial cryosphere), where snow, ice, and frozen soils and vegetation are common.
| The Cold Land Processes Mission is a research
mission concerned with frozen landscapes - cold areas of the Earth's land
surface where water is frozen either seasonally or permanently.
These areas are the land component of the cryosphere (i.e. the terrestrial cryosphere), where snow, ice, and frozen soils and vegetation are common. |
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Cold land areas form a major component of the Earth's hydrologic system, and interact significantly with the global weather and climate system, the geosphere, and the biosphere. |
| The influence of seasonally and permanently frozen land surfaces extends to engineering in cold regions, trafficability for humans and other animals, and a variety of hazards and costs associated with living in cold lands. |  |
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The Cold Land Processes Mission will use microwave remote sensing to measure critical components of the terrestrial cryosphere, including snow pack characteristics, and the freeze/thaw state of the land surface. |
| The Mission is recommended by the NASA Land Surface Hydrology Program to address broad NASA Earth Science Enterprise objectives in hydrology, water resources, ecology, and atmospheric sciences. |