I know that ice isn't as dense as liquid water, hence it floats in liquid water. What I don't understand is whether water takes up more volume in solid or liquid form. If you have ice in a cup of water the solid has displaced the same amount of water as it would if you just tipped that amount of liquid water in. This is the reason a glass wont overflow if the ice in it melts. However when it comes to global warming, if the icecaps melt, wont that liquid water just displace the same amount as it would when it was in solid form as it was already displacing water when it was solid. I read that liquid water only takes up 92% of the volume it did when it was ice but if this were true then wouldn' the sea level drop? Or isn't this taking into account the amount of ice actually sitting on land in Antartica and Greenland. Is what I've written write? If not, could you please explain to me in detail what actually occurs.
2006-12-06
00:57:17
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8 answers
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asked by
Anonymous