Since more than 90% of icebergs and ice caps are actually under water even thought they look big from the outside, why is it that if they melt the water level increases?
when ice forms water expands. because of the oxygen. (kind of like when u put a bottle of water in a freezer for too long, it explodes)
so if that ice were to melt it would in fact take up less room would it not?
then wouldnt water levels be decreasing?
2007-10-16 15:19:56 · 8 answers · asked by Anonymous in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
"The submerged ice displaces its own volume in water"
lets say the ice under water takes up (easy numbers) 100Litres3.... but there is really only 98litrets3 of water . the remaining 2litres3 is jsut air/space.
once it melts shouldnt the water level have decreased 2litres3?
get what I'm saying? again sorry for my lack of scientific terms I was just curious. I don't study science or anything
2007-10-16 17:34:01 · update #1
Good point but....
When floating ice melts the level does not change. Try it in a glass.
But when ice that is supported by something and not floating melts the water level will go up. Try this in a glass. Put enough ice cubes in a glass so that one or two cubes are above the water line. When all the ice is melted the water level will be higher.
Ice burgs and the arctic cap are floating. When they melt the sea level will stay the same. But the huge caps of ice on Greenland and the Antarctic and all the glaciers are not floating, they are supported on land. When they melt the run off will raise sea levels.
2007-10-16 15:33:03 · answer #1 · answered by dougger 7 · 2⤊ 0⤋
When ice melts you have to take into account the whole volume whats above and whats below the water, but as it contracts when it melts the net gain or loss of water level is assumed to be zero, the article below explain how this is not strictly true.
*As to the rant from the post above, this is a science forum go to the politics section if you want to spew blind political hatred based on personal opinions.
2007-10-16 15:29:05 · answer #2 · answered by cimra 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Ice that is above the water, when it melts, adds to water level. This is ice such as on mountains, also in continental ice caps such as Greenland and Antarctica.
The submerged ice displaces its own volume in water, so as it melts there is NO CHANGE in the water level.
2007-10-16 16:16:26 · answer #3 · answered by Howard H 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not necessarily.... you have a nice point though....
Make this:
put water with ice in a glass (50% of the glass with ice) and pour enough water to cover 90% of the ice, wait for the ice to melt, tell me, do you have more or less water in the glass?
2007-10-16 15:29:24 · answer #4 · answered by Galadriel 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
water expands as it solidifies into ice because of the rearrangement of the water molecules to form the ice crystal structure and not because of oxygen!
2007-10-16 16:11:15 · answer #5 · answered by fossegrim 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
alot of ice is above the water, so when it melts it will add to the water.........im not sure how much is above and how much under though
2007-10-16 15:30:50 · answer #6 · answered by Dak B 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The sea levels will rise because Al Gore says so...duh! Even though he was wrong 9 out of 11 times in his movie, he is still the man! Hey, let's get him to run for President. Why I'll bet he'll will fix everything by golly. What a guy, huh?
2007-10-16 15:27:42 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 4⤋
ice starts out not very dense,as time continues it becomes more dense untill it is almost all h20 and less o2
2007-10-16 15:29:40 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋