how will ocean's rise b/c of global warming?

Question

and don't say because of the ice caps....

Answer 1

Why not say the ice caps? The fact is as the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets melt the sea levels rise. Don't believe it, ask the people of Tuvalu, because you won’t find any global warming skeptics there.
http://www.tuvaluislands.com/warming.htm

Answer 2

King Man, the sea levels have risen 300 ft. since the end of the last ice age. There is more to the climate change than the melting of the glaciers however. Even the tilt of the earth's orbit around the sun can contribute to the change in weather. If the southern seas warmed up it would cause a dramatic change in the weather, so would a change in the Gulf Stream.

Answer 3

VERY SHORT ANSWER

1) Thermal expansion of seas and oceans. 2) Melting ice


MORE DETAILS

Prior to 1993 sea level rises were measured using tidal gauges, since 1993 satellite telemetry has been used. Climate models predicted current sea level rises to be 2.8mm a year, observations show them to be 3.1mm a year. Here's how the numbers add up...

Thermal expansion is causing sea level rises of 1.6mm a year. The melting of inland glaciers and ice caps is adding a further 0.8mm a year, melting from the Greenland ice sheet adds 0.2mm a year, melting from the Antarctic ice sheets also adds 0.2mm a year.

These figures total 2.8mm a year, a discrepancy of 0.3mm less than the actual total.

Since these figures were calculated, further research has been conducted and the flow speeds of Antarctic and Greenland outlet glaciers has been seen to be occuring faster than previously thought, this would account for the discrepancy.

Answer 4

It's true, where else would all that water come from. That's why the amount of fresh water in the ocean has risen.
The world gets hotter, melts the ice caps and there goes all the coastal cities.

Answer 5

Two reasons, both important.

Land based ice melts and runs into the sea.

Warm water expands.

3DM is right about the salinity deal. But he downplays the problem too much. When the Earth got warmer thousands of years ago man could just migrate someplace better. Hard (expensive, and impossible for some) to do that in the modern world.

Answer 6

there is more to melting ice than simple displacement of water (which is what you are thinking) Some ice caps are on land, all ice caps contain much lower slainity levels, when salinity decreases the volume increases - it's a physical chemistry concept - look it up. AND of course thermal expansion.

edit

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Partial_molar_volume

density is not only increased because of the mass of salt 3dm, it is also increased because of the ionic shell it forms with water molcules, making multiple molecules coordinated (closer) in space with each other and the ions, this is more powerful than water coordinating with it's self through 2 h-bonds. I think your downplaying this effect a bit. Anyway, even if I was talking about density (which in a way i was)- for those who think the density doesn't matter:

http://www.physorg.com/news5619.html

any how , land cap melting and thermal expansion are the primary reasons for sea level rise.

edit 2

now bob seems to be questioning what i said, so there seems to be some confusion on this issue, perhaps i was misunderstanding what 3dm said.

Here is why i think 3dm was not completely correct (perhaps i'm just misunderstanding):

For all ionic compounds the volume of the aqueous solution is less than the volume of individual components added together.

And why i thought 3dm was wrong:

For some ionic compounds (found in ocean water) the volume of solution is less than the volume of the pure water added. So if you remove the salt, the volume increases!

proof (question 3):

http://www.chemistry.mcmaster.ca/~ayers/chem2PA3/worksheets/WS13.pdf

proof (pg. 3):
http://www.richmond.edu/~sabrash/309/309Ch6F04.pdf

Answer 7

Excellent question, and most people don't realize this.

Yes, the ice caps will partially melt. But, scientists tell us that most of the rise of the ocean level will be due to the increased water temperature. Water expands when it gets warmer.

Answer 8

Temperature increases will result in some loss of the globe's ice. Sea levels rise as they have since the end of the last ice age...

Patrick said: "when salinity decreases the volume increases - it's a physical chemistry concept - look it up."

OK, let's hear it. I hope you are not confusing density decrease for increasing volume. True, water loses density as salinity decreases, but that is because of the mass of salt - not because of volumetric expansion.

Whatever small increase in volume resulting from the decreases ionic attraction when you remove the salts will be more than offset by the DECREASE in volume resulting the removal of the rather large ions.

Answer 9

there's a lot of ballyhoo in these answers so far....the one I find interesting is the poster who uses the IPCC report.......the one form the UN backed worldwide best of the brightest scientists........and the number cited id the one they come up with which is

2.8mm a year. in ten years that's 28mm.

For those of us in America who are cheerfully oblivious to the metric system, that is

one inch.

in ten years.

Repeat:

one inch

in ten years.

The North Polar caps are already floating in the ocean so if they melt its not a big deal. Agreed if the West Antarctic Sheet melts we are in trouble, but lets repeat the WORST CASE scenario:

one inch.

in ten years.

Answer 10

Note that ice takes 10% greater volume than the equivalent amount of water that is NOT frozen. Scientific fact! (you can check this with the ice trays in your freezer!)

Therefore, HOW could melting ice result in higher sea levels? Only by adding water that is NOW above the sea level, such as glaciers on otherwise 'dry' land.