-51 The argument that if the polar caps melt the water level will rise is spurious ... put some ice cubes and water in a glass, let them melt ... how much has the water level risen?!!!!!! amirite?

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Have some water in a cup, hold some ice cubes over it but let the bottom half be in the water, let the ice cubes melt into the water, and see if the water level rises. It will.

by Anonymous 11 years ago

Damn! Someone read my post! .... thanks for that! ;-D

by Anonymous 11 years ago

It is still a volume of water regardless of its state. So liquid water will always increase when ice melts, though as an aside the density of liquid water if I remember correctly is greater at about 4C than solid ice-which is why ice floats. The more serious issue is if land ice melts-such as the huge volume of water locked up in the Greenland glacier and the side issue that ice-snow fields help to regulate temperature through reflection.

by Anonymous 2 years ago

A slight defense is that when the ice cube melts the total volume of water will increase but as long as the temperature stay below about 4C the increase in volume will be less than the volume of the ice cube. However any further increase in temperature will naturally result in an increased volume.

by Anonymous 2 years ago