Ice is less dense than water so as far as the North pole goes sea level should receed which should balance the south pole melting. ... any one?
2007-02-10 01:14:59 · 5 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
It is already happening. Many small islands are being evacuated because of rising water levels and Venice is sinking.
Don't you watch the news???
2007-02-10 01:22:02 · answer #1 · answered by Gone 5 · 3⤊ 1⤋
Ice that is presently resting on land, if it were to melt, would run off into the sea and cause the seas to rise - without a doubt! That ice would be of the type that is in Antarctica or Greenland or the world's glaciers. On the other hand, ice which is floating in the earth's oceans would, if it were to melt, NOT cause the seas to rise. Why? The reason an object floats, in any fluid, is that it displaces its own weight in that fluid. You note that ice is less dense than water, which is true. On a small scale, if one places an ice cube in water it floats and a portion of it is ABOVE the surface of the water. This is because the volume of the ice cube BELOW the water displaces the ice cube's exact weight in water....that's why it floats. Because, as you correctly state, the ice is less dense than the water, for it to displace its weight in water it does not have to be totally submerged.
Try this experiment or ask this question amongst your friends:
If I were to put an ice cube in a glass and fill the glass right to the top with water, with the ice cube floating on top, and then let the ice cube melt.....would the water level in the glass rise, fall, or stay the same when the ice cube melted? If you understood my answer to your question you will know that the level will remain exactly the same because the ice cube displaces its exact weight in water. Therefore, since the ice is water, it displaces its weight in water so when it melts it takes up exactly the same space as the water it displaces. Hence, no rise in sea level (or in the glass). Hope this helps.
2007-02-14 07:25:28 · answer #2 · answered by popcorn 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
According to the non-sensational web site below, it is agreed that the melting of floating ice would have no net effect on sea level. However, if the icecaps on land melted, it would.
There is enough ice on Greenland to raise the sea level by about 7 metres.
There is enough ice on Antarctica to raise it by about 61 metres.
2007-02-10 09:46:00 · answer #3 · answered by bh8153 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
The theory is that there's a bunch of precipitation sitting on top of a crust of land at the poles. If this were melted, it would run off the land shelf into the oceans, increasing the volume of liquid.
The earth is a complete system though, and there is no actual increase of water which is occurring in the theory. Just re-distribution.
2007-02-10 09:19:37 · answer #4 · answered by Dave 5 · 0⤊ 3⤋
No, the sea level won't rise. It's the land that will sink.
2007-02-10 09:22:32 · answer #5 · answered by pestilpen3 5 · 1⤊ 1⤋