global warming lowering sea levels?

Question

ice has more mass than water so wont the ice capps melting lower the sea level when they melt rather than rise it. and no answers like: "gobal warming is a load of crap"

Answer 1

I know what you're saying and it makes sense in respect of the Arctic Ice Cap which is floating and therefore displaces it's own mass of water - it could melt completely and sea levels would be unaffected.

The Greenland Ice Sheet and Antarctica are land masses - i.e. they're not floating and any melting here adds to the water already in the seas and oceans. Antarctica alone covers 12% of the Earth's surface and the ice is up to 4 kilometres thick in places.

If all the ice melted (it won't, but assuming it did) then sea levels would rise just over 80 metres (260 feet). Sea levels are rising and will continue to rise, the amount is 3mm a year as a global average, locally up to 30mm in some places.

If you wanted to do a practical experiment here's something to try - half fill a sink with water and put a block of ice in it. Mark the water level, when the ice has melted check the water level - it will be exactly the same. Now put a block of ice on the draining board, as it melts the water runs off into the sink, when it's melted check the water level and this time it's gone up. In this experiment the Arctic is the floating ice and Antarctica and Greenland is the ice on the draining board.

Answer 2

The ice that is floating will not add or subtract to the sea levels. Much of the rise in sea level, about 75 per cent of the expect rise, is due to warming sea water expanding. Greenland and other similar habitats will probably not melt significantly enough to add more than a few inches or so to the sea level in the next 100 years. With tides coming and going, you probably wouldn't even notice it. It will cause some problems to low lying areas but they will adapt. Much of the predictions are based on models that can be manipulated to spit out anything the modeler wants. If he doesn't spell gloom and doom, he will likely be looking for a different line of work next year when he loses his funding so gee what a shock, he predicts more gloom and doom and some people just soak it up. It is amazing and really very sad to witness.

Answer 3

That's what the eco freaks keep telling me but I find it hard to believe. Margaret K says the polar bears are dying out because of global warming but the fact is the number of polar bears has been increasing for decades and are now at a an all time high. This tells me that either GW is not happening or it is good for the polar bears. Josh claims when ice melts it expands but this is false. When water freezes it expands, when it melts it contracts. This is easy to prove if you have a little common sense and intelligence. Get a large glass and fill it half way with water and the other half with ice. Mark the level of the water. Come back when the ice has melted and check the level. It will have dropped because the melting ice has contracted. Or put a glass of water in the freezer and watch the glass break as the water freezes and expands. The eco freaks have been claiming for years that GW is causing the ice caps to melt and ocean levels to rise. So why haven't the shore lines changed? Wouldn't coastal cities like New York, Los Angeles, Houston, etc be experiencing flooding if sea levels were rising? I know the eco freaks like to point to the flooding in New Orleans as proof of rising sea levels due to global warming. And all they have to do to prove this is to ignore the hurricane that caused it. To quote John Wayne in the movie McClintock. "Are you going to believe what you see, or what I tell you?"

Answer 4

Ice does not have more mass then water, it is simply denser. In other words, it has more mass per unit of volume. You have touched on an important issue: density. Melting the ice that is already in the water (North Pole) will not raise sea levels, but melting Antarctica and Greenland will. On top of that, however, warm water is less dense then cold water, and thus occupies more space. As the waters warm, they will rise even if we don't add melted ice to the mix.

Answer 5

The majority of Ice we are concerned about melting is found on land. Not over the ocean. When these ice sheets break off and melt this will add to the water in the ocean and increase sea level around the globe.

Answer 6

very simple i guess u can put a block of ice in ur cup once it melts u will see that the level of the water has increased. I tell you man this is real i went to a glacier from Peru like 9 years ago and I have gone again there and now u have to walk a lot longer to see the ice. It is very sad is almost gone and people can not explained themselves what happen..

Answer 7

Ice does have a greater mass, much of the ice is locked up on land however.
Ice caps melt on land and flow into the ocean, raising the sea level.

Answer 8

no because most of the ice at the arctic and antarctic is above water, so whe it melts it will fall into the water level rising it. Another cool fact is that if Greenland completely melted ocean levels would rise 20 feet, and 100s of millions of people would be displaced by this. (Can you say world-wide disaster?)

I was just reading some of your answers, and yes if the arctic melts it will raise water levels (this is because we can see it, it's above water level, so if it sunk to below water level then that would raise water level).

Answer 9

global warming is so not... btw i agree that global warming is raising the sea levels because your thoughts do make sence but the ice is melting... so it will be equal to water's mass not more. Hey check out the movie inconvienent truth for all the 411 on global warming

Answer 10

it is highering sea levels because all the glaciers are being melted which means there is more water in the oceans which will rise the sea levels. and global warming is not crap. because each and everyone of us is affected by it. and if u think it is crap then go outside and start farting because you'll be polluting the air b/ of ur nasty gas.