Global Warming Sea Levels?

Question

They say that when the polar ice caps melt, the sea level will rise and flood parts of the lands. However, ice already takes up all the room it needs when it floats in water so if it melts, how is it going to affect the lands if it already takes up the room it needs?

For example, when you put ice cubes in a glass of water, the level of the water rises. When the ice melts in the water, the water level stays the same.

Answer 1

This question is quite good and deserving of something more than a simplistic answer.

Much of the polar ice cap covers ocean waters. When this melts it leaves the ocean open to the sun and wind. Geological data show that this has probably happened repeatedly in the past, and that the ocean levels rose very little. The leading current theory is that much of the melting ice evaporated into the atmosphere and was held over the North Pole. The availability of more open water for evaporation increased humidity levels at the Pole, leading to massive snowfall, leading to an ice age over a period of just a few decades.

The ice over Greenland and Antarctica could melt, adding to the water in the ocean. This might raise ocean levels a few feet (catastrophic for Bangladesh, would never be noticed in Switzerland). Perhaps the greatest risk is from diluting the salt water with fresh water, disrupting the lifecycles of salt water creatures. We simply don't know.

You have responses proclaiming that global warming is true and is caused by man and is terrible. You will doubtless receive responses saying that global warming is false and all of the data were fabricated. Neither is correct. The truth is, we simply do not know what is going on. The short-term trend (less than 100 years) is global warming while the long-term trend (4,000 years) is global cooling. Burning fossil fuels simply cannot be a great idea, whether it adds to global warming or not, and campaigns to replace fossil fuels should be supported.

Yours is the kind of question that both proponents and nay-sayers should stop and consider when shouting each other down about global warming. Try to inject some science into the discussion - good job.

Answer 2

Some of the ice caps involved (Antarctica, Greenland) contain ice which is currently above sea level, not floating in the ocean. The ice is sitting on land, and will flow into the ocean when it melts.

Even so, most of the predicted rise in sea level will actually be due to the oceans *expanding*, rather than from water added by melting ice caps. Water expands slightly when its temperature goes up -- not much, but when you consider the size of the oceans, the effect will be noticeable.

Answer 3

Have an experiment for U. Fill a Glass full of ice. Now fill to the rim with water. Allow it to melt and what happened??? The ice occupies more space than it will after it melts. So if anything the sea level should go down. Just like this Global Warming is a lie don't be taken by it.

Answer 4

yes i will agree that temp of the planet has gone up but that is what the earth does for the people that think if the polar ice caps melt that the ocean will wipe all the sea side lands away then you need to think of one thing that is what the world does it heats up and cools down where one place is hot there is a another getting cooler one ice cap might be melting but there is a different one that is growing faster than the one that is melting so guess what GW as i have seen it and studied it will happen naturally and Will continue to happen and then when the environment balances out it will start to cool down and all you eco nuts can call for the next ice age

Answer 5

Sorry, you are way off base. You are referring to sea ice--tat is already in the ocean, as you state.

The polar ice caps--on Greenland and Antartica--are NOT IN the ocean--tey are sitting on land. When they melt (or rather, part of them; no one expects all of the ice caps to melt) that water will run off into the ocean, raising the sea level--like pouring more water in the glass.

Look at a map--the tow major icecaps--and almost all of the ice--are located on those two bodies of land.

Answer 6

The evidence is irrefutable that temperatures have risen in the last century, it's also well established that carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere has increased about 30 percent, enhancing the atmosphere's ability to trap heat.

The exact link, if any, between the increase in carbon dioxide emissions and the higher temperatures is still under debate.

Most scientists believe that humans, by burning fossil fuels such as coal and petroleum, are largely to blame for the increase in carbon dioxide. But some scientists also point to natural causes, such as volcanic activity.

From the melting of the ice cap on Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa's tallest peak, to the loss of coral reefs as oceans become warmer, the effects of global warming are clear.

The biggest danger is that global warming will cause sea levels to rise dramatically.

Thermal expansion has already raised the oceans 4 to 8 inches (10 to 20 centimeters).

But that's nothing compared to what would happen if, for example, Greenland's massive ice sheet were to melt....

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/04/0408_040408_greenlandicemelt.html

Observed temperature changes...

http://www.grida.no/climate/vital/19.htm

We have seen that an average drop of just 5 degrees Celsius over thousands of years can cause an ice age; so what will happen if the Earth's average temperature increases a few degrees in just a few hundred years?

There is no clear answer. Even short-term weather predictions are never perfectly accurate because weather is a complex phenomenon.

When it comes to long-term climate predictions, all we can manage are educated guesses based on our knowledge of climate patterns through history!

Answer 7

im no scientific researcher but there is a difference when you put a ice cube in a water.how can you say there is no difference?try doing it foryourself.try taking 3 ice cubes and put them in a glass and see whut happens after they melt.now for the polar ice caps are only supported by the water from underneath.what happens to the above and the thickness .only the below portion is floating the rest above it , when melted will created a rise in the water level.

Answer 8

Sea levels are far below levels recorded 165 years ago.

Check out this link to see the pictures

http://www.john-daly.com/

Answer 9

i think because there is still alot of ice above the water? maybe they could just start building a gigando lake somewhere and start filling it with ocean water now?? ahah

Answer 10

your so smart you should tell people that do the GW campaigns this because they are freaking people out saying that we are going to drown and die because we treat the world bad..its so confusing