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What happens if all the ice in the ice caps melt?

If water is denser than ice, why do sea levels rise when the ice caps melt?

  • We know that the mass of liquid displaced by the floating ice equals the mass of the object. That's why the ice caps float on water. We also know that when an ice cube melts in a glass of water, the water level does not change as the melted water will occupy exactly the same amount of space which the ice under the water level previously occupied. Why is it different for ice caps? Calculations showing 2-3 meters rise in water levels and causing long shorelines or entire islands to submerge are accepted as accurate by a majority of the scientific community. Buoyancy rules should apply here too. Also, the density of water will be even higher due to the presence of dissolved salt and minerals.

  • Answer:

    In addition to 's point, the question contains a false assumption. If the ice is floating in a glass, the water level will stay the same after the ice melts. The water level would only go down if the ice had been forcibly held submerged deeper than it would otherwise float if it were free to do so. Furthermore, if the ice is made from freshwater and it is floating in saltwater, the water level will go up after the ice melts, due to the fact that saltwater is denser than freshwater. http://www.physorg.com/news5619.html

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No. Most of Antarctica's and Greenland's ice is far above sea level and supported by bedrock, not by buoyancy floating on sea water. If (or when) it melts all land supported ice above the present sea level line will go into raising sea level.

Steve Blumenkranz

The sea level might even drop. If the polar ice is melting, that means the global temp is rising, producing a lot more evaporation .. just like boiling water on a stove .. the steam boils off .. the level drops. In addition, the water vapor climbs to high altitudes where it freezes and deposits out as snow and ice in the high mountains .. which cover probably as much area as the Southern ice cap .. so the mountain ice pack builds deeper and deeper until it is so deep that it cascades into the lowlands .. so even more snow is deposited there. And at some point the spreading snow pack causes evaporation  of the ice caps to stop completely .. and the polar caps have been restored.  I'm guessing the sea level will drop by 300 feet at least .. and much more as the next ice age spreads the polar ice caps North and South .. as much as 1000 feet.

John Snakenburg

You can also think of the ocean as your cocktail with ice cubes in it. Once they melt, your drink neither spills out of the glass nor does it becomes less (unless you drink it ;) ).

Patrick Pieper

Antarctica is a continent with a lot of ice on it and hanging off it. All the ice on the continent could could melt or slide off into the ocean and thereby raise sea level.

Elwood Wyatt

Only for "sea ice" which is already floating on the water. All land-based ice (Greenland, Antarctica) will raise sea level.

Ryan Rittenhouse

The ice displaces a volume of water that weighs the same as the block of ice. As the ice melts it displaces less water but the water level rises given that a) the overall volume of water has increased and b) the salt concentration has decreased due to the melting ice.

Ray Long

Antarctica IS NOT a mass of ice floating on the sea.Underneath the ice it has mountains,plains and valleys. It has a total area of 14.2 million sq km. About 99% of the continent remains covered permanently with ice with average thickness of 2 to 5 km.Now you can imagine if all the ice that covers 14 million sq km area and is 5 km thick starts to melt  then what would happen!!

Aryan Bhararia

No. Ice floating on water has a negligible impact on sea level compared to ice on land. Historical relationships between extent of polar ice and sea levels are very clear. Melting ice will produce higher sea levels.

Eric Last

Icebergs are on the ocean, and don't have much to do with rising sea levels. Glaciers are on land.  They have everything to do with rising sea levels.

Bradley Peterson

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