This book gives a comprehensive overview of our present understanding of the Earth's cryosphere, its changes and their consequences for mean sea level changes. Since the middle of the 19th century there has been an increase of sea level height by 20-25 cm. Some 8-10 cm of this is due to net losses from glaciers, the remainder being due to mass losses from land ice and thermal expansion of the oceans. The mean sea level rise is slowly accelerating; at present it is some 3 mm/year. Recent space observations made by the GRACE satellite combined with ocean temperature and volume measurements have enabled the separate contributions to sea level rise from melting ice and from thermal expansion to be better estimated. The estimation of mean sea level change is complicated by changes in land level due to tectonic effects and to ongoing changes following the latest major glaciation. The book gives an up-to-date survey of our present knowledge of this crucial subject.

Rapid development of Earth observation satellite using remote sensing techniques enables observations of the oceanic processes by sea and airborne study to be carried out over vast areas in a short time. This first book written by Russian and Norwegian scientists is an analysis of studies of the Kara Sea and presents a unique catalogue of environmental and pollution data of the joint Norwegian and Russian oceanographic expedition studies of the Kara Sea spanning three decades.

The main focus of this book is the study of environmental dynamics in the Arctic, coupled with ecosystem dynamics. Particular emphasis is placed on problems of the composition of the Arctic atmosphere, including minor gases, aerosols and clouds, as well as changes in the composition due to impacts of human activity. Analysis of observational data and numerical modelling results, which characterize the Arctic basin pollution dynamics, and its impact on ecosystems is also provided. Other topics covered include problems of general circulation in the atmosphere and oceans - beginning with the 1930s when the Arctic was regarded as the kitchen of global weather and climate and concluding with the situation today when modern observational data and numerical modelling make for a more balanced view.

This book gives a comprehensive overview of our present understanding of the Earth's cryosphere, its changes and their consequences for mean sea level changes. Since the middle of the 19th century there has been an increase of sea level height by 20-25 cm. Some 8-10 cm of this is due to net losses from glaciers, the remainder being due to mass losses from land ice and thermal expansion of the oceans. The mean sea level rise is slowly accelerating; at present it is some 3 mm/year. Recent space observations made by the GRACE satellite combined with ocean temperature and volume measurements have enabled the separate contributions to sea level rise from melting ice and from thermal expansion to be better estimated. The estimation of mean sea level change is complicated by changes in land level due to tectonic effects and to ongoing changes following the latest major glaciation. The book gives an up-to-date survey of our present knowledge of this crucial subject.