We often see photographs that show how glaciers have diminished in size over the last century. The recession of glaciers is a direct result of global warming, resulting from the burning of fossil fuel. But other parts of our frozen world are also changing—sea-ice, ice sheets, lake and river ice and permafrost. Collectively, these make up the cryosphere, and although we may not live near glaciers or ice sheets or sea-ice, and the ground under our feet may not be frozen, there are many reasons why we should pay attention to the rapidly diminishing cryosphere. The World Climate Research Programme in Geneva has established their International Office for Climate and the Cryosphere (CliC) at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst to do exactly that. With funding from NASA and the National Science Foundation, it is the responsibility of the CliC Office to coordinate research around the world on all aspects of the cryosphere.