ABSTRACT
The biosphere as an essential component of the climate system is discussed focusing on carbon cycle and cumulative carbon transfer since the Industrial Revolution. In this context, the transfer of carbon between biosphere, land, atmosphere, and ocean is described as a function of natural fluxes, human contributions, and stored carbon. Next, the role of the lithosphere to the spatio-temporal variability of the climate system is discussed focusing on binary tephra records and multiphase processes affecting the Earth system and climate. In addition, current knowledge on glaciers, ice caps, ice sheets, sea ice, lake ice and river ice, snow and frozen ground such as permafrost as components of the cryosphere are presented, paying special attention to the Arctic and Antarctic. Several exploration tools of thermal radiation and snow cover mainly based on remote sensing monitoring surveys and advanced modelling are finally presented.
