"Look around you; this is what makes up the cryosphere. The Inuit people and the Arctic wildlife rely on this stuff to continue their way of life. Everything from the frozen ground we're stepping on, to the icicles hanging from houses are important parts of the cryosphere. Ah, but there is one thing you should know about the Arctic: though the snow and ice are here for a long time, we really get little snowfall and precipitation. In fact, the amount of precipitation we get here is the same as a desert! The cold temperature keeps the snow from melting, while the low moisture prevents snowfall or rain."