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Earth's Systems / Water cycle / Snow, ice and meltwater storage

Snow, ice and meltwater storage

Storage of water as snow and ice in cold regions, its high albedo, centuries-long residence in ice sheets, and the seasonal meltwater that feeds rivers and soils.

Boundary: where this process starts

Starts with: Snow accumulates and compacts into glacier ice in cold regions

Boundary: where it ends

Ends after: Meltwater feeds rivers and soils in spring and summer

PARTICIPANTSRESOURCESGlaciersIce sheetsSnowpackSnow and iceMeltwaterWaterSunlightHeatImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact +4 of 5. Click for details and evidence.↻ reinforces · strong · 0.6 cold surface keeImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Impact -3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.slow melt and calvingImpact +3 of 5. Click for details and evidence.Snow accumulates and compacts into glacier ice in cold regions: uses up Wateruses upSnow and ice reflect most sunlight (high albedo): uses SunlightSnow and ice reflect most sunlight (high albedo): uses HeatIce sheets hold most of Earth's fresh water for centuries to millennia: uses WaterMeltwater feeds rivers and soils in spring and summer: uses Waterlocked into ice massWater: locked into ice massmostly reflectedunchangedSunlight: mostly reflected unchangedlimited warming ofsurfaceHeat: limited warming of surfacestored in ice massWater: stored in ice massreleased as seasonalrunoffWater: released as seasonal runoffStart: Snow, ice andmeltwater storageSTARTStart: Snow, ice and meltwater storageEnd: Snow, ice andmeltwater storageENDEnd: Snow, ice and meltwater storageSnow accumulates andcompacts into glacierice in cold regions📄1Snow accumulates and compacts into glacier ice in cold regionsSnow and ice reflectmost sunlight (highalbedo)📄1 ↗1Snow and ice reflect most sunlight (high albedo)Ice sheets hold most ofEarth's fresh water forcenturies to millennia👍1📄1Ice sheets hold most of Earth's fresh water for centuries to millenniaMeltwater feeds riversand soils in spring andsummer📄1 ↗1Meltwater feeds rivers and soils in spring and summer
Line thickness = size of impact (1 to 5)% on a line = chance a fork takes that branch📄 = pieces of evidence on a stepNegative effectLoops backHypothesisResource used up (arrow into the step)Resource used, not used upResource made or released (arrow out of the step)
What am I looking at? The concepts on every map
Participant
Someone or something that takes part in a process or influences it: a plant, a microbe, a river, a machine, a force. Participants are the rows of a map.
Resource
Something a step uses or uses up: water, oxygen, sunlight, a tool. Each step has an arrow down to the resources it uses.
Step
One thing that happens in a process. Every step has at least one participant and carries evidence.
Decision fork
A step where the process can go several ways. Every outcome is labeled with a percentage, and the percentages add up to 100%. It is not limited to yes or no.
Loop
A line that carries the process back to an earlier step. We record whether it reinforces or balances, how strong it is (weak, moderate, strong), and its gain (0 to 1): the share of the effect that returns on each pass.
Size of impact
Every line says how much the earlier step affects the next one (1 to 5), in which direction (+, -, 0), and why. Thicker lines mean bigger impact.
Evidence
The support for a claim: a source and what it shows. Every step, line, change and vote needs it. Click any step or line to read its evidence.
Boundary
Where a process starts and where it ends. Every process, and every subprocess, has a start and an end.
Subprocess
A step that is itself a whole process, with its own boundary, steps and lines. Click a step marked ↘ to open it. Subprocesses nest as deep as the evidence goes.
Description
A plain-language summary of what a process is and what it covers.
Hypothesis
A proposed new connection between two parts of the map that nobody has linked. It carries a prediction, a way to test it, and a count of papers on each topic and on both. It is an unverified idea until someone tests it.

Every step, with its evidence

The same information as the map, as a list you can search and share. Click a participant or resource to see everywhere it appears.

Snow accumulates and compacts into glacier ice in cold regions
GlaciersIce sheetsSnowpackWater
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Shiklomanov 1993, World fresh water resources, in Gleick (ed.), Water in Crisis, Oxford Univ. Press: Ice sheets and glaciers hold ~68-69% of Earth's fresh water; residence times range from days (atmosphere) to millennia (ice). (confidence 0.85)
Snow and ice reflect most sunlight (high albedo)
Snow and iceSunlightHeat
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Curry, Schramm & Ebert 1995, Sea ice-albedo climate feedback mechanism, J. Climate 8:240-247: Snow and ice albedo (~0.6-0.85) versus open water (~0.07) creates a strong positive ice-albedo feedback. (confidence 0.85)
Ice sheets hold most of Earth's fresh water for centuries to millennia
Ice sheetsGlaciersWater
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Shiklomanov 1993, World fresh water resources, in Gleick (ed.), Water in Crisis, Oxford Univ. Press: Ice sheets and glaciers hold ~68-69% of Earth's fresh water; residence times range from days (atmosphere) to millennia (ice). (confidence 0.85)
Meltwater feeds rivers and soils in spring and summer
MeltwaterRiversWater
Evidence (1) · added by Atlas
  • Shiklomanov 1993, World fresh water resources, in Gleick (ed.), Water in Crisis, Oxford Univ. Press: Ice sheets and glaciers hold ~68-69% of Earth's fresh water; residence times range from days (atmosphere) to millennia (ice). (confidence 0.85)