资源环境科技发展态势分析平台

The aerial cryosphere refers to all ice bodies in the atmosphere, and has important impacts on the development of weather systems, climate change, and aviation safety. The total mass of the aerial cryosphere is evaluated for the first time based on the ERA5 reanalysis dataset, and the spatiotemporal variability and long‐term change of the aerial cryosphere are investigated. The results show that the total mass of atmospheric ice is approximately 33.1 Gt [29.7~37.0 Gt], covering ~74.3% of the Earth’s surface area with obvious latitudinal zonality and seasonal variability. The aerial cryosphere mass has been increasing over the past few decades due to the overall increase in the atmospheric water vapor content caused by rising global temperatures. Moreover, the contribution of warming to the ablation of the aerial cryosphere is negligible since there is no significant trend in the height of the atmospheric freezing point layer.