does melting ice in 1 pole exactly match the freezing in the other? if not wouldnt sea levels fluctuate?

Question

we are often told gloval warming will cause seas to rise ' that implies they are stable now, are they?

Answer 1

You make a very good point. Global warming and cooling involves many natural cycles of various periods that can mutually support or interfere with global temperature changes. Also when the land mass at the poles changes because of continental drift the amount of ice formed can change and importantly the circulation of ocean currents can be affected changing the redistribution of available solar energy. One pole may accumulate more ice than the other lowering sea level.

Answer 2

The ice on the north pole is all floating. You can melt and freeze that as much as you like; sea levels won't change noticeably. It's like ice cubes in your gin&tonic. Same with sea ice around the fringes of Antartica, which is seasonal, and has no real relevance to sea levels.

The huge and (until recently) very stable glaciers on Greenland and Antarctica are an entirely different matter. They have kept water locked up out of the sea for millenia. Those are the ones that are melting.

I guess an ice shelf is more complicated - that's like an arm of a glacier that stretches out onto the sea. Is it floating or not? If it isn't, you sure don't want it to break off and suddently start floating.

Answer 3

No, that would be a ridiculous notion.

There are so many factors governing the temperature of a place that it would be difficult to predict.

What is more predictable, is that the average global temperature is rising, which affects everywhere on earth.

Answer 4

As far as I'm aware, they do fluctuate - by a small amount.

Answer 5

they do dont they especially with the tide and current affecting it