Posts
a.
What happens if the polar ice caps melt?
Based on the results from the
experiment, it is clear that floating ice does not add extra volume to a body
of water that it melts in. Most of the
ice is under the water already, and the density of ice is less than the density
of water. In other words, when ice
melts, it actually takes up less space.
Therefore, I am fairly certain that the melting of any ice currently in
the oceans will have little to no effect on sea level. On the other hand, the ice currently on land does
not contribute to the existing volume of water in the oceans. Therefore, if much of this ice were to melt
(like the Antarctic ice cap), water previously not present in the oceans would make
its way there. This would result in
massive flooding along coastal areas, which would in turn cause many other
disastrous side effects, mainly the spread of illness. So to sum it all up, if the polar ice caps
melt, flooding will likely occur due to the water running off the land into the
sea (Antarctica or Greenland) rather than due to the already existing icebergs
(which make up most of the northern ice cap).
b.
What other questions do you have about this
Science Inquiry Experience?
Will the small tips of icebergs
have any effect on the volume increase of the oceans?
What is the current projection rate
as to how fast the water will rise?
What safeguards are being taken in
preparation for this inevitable event?
Is this working. I cannot post anything to Science or Science Made Simple. I was able to post to Seeing is Believing with no problems.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Aaron, not sure why you can't post anything to my blog, I'll mess around with the settings but others were able to post.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, you made a good point that I didn't even think of until I read this last week. Most of the ice is frozen on land, and once that gets mixed into the oceans, then we are in for some trouble. Better buy some property in the mountains, it will be beach front property for our kids. All kidding aside, if the ice melts, we are in for some serious trouble. Katrina was bad, just imagine the whole world turning into a Katrina like flood situation, except the flood waters will not recede. Just think of all those millions of people who will be displaced by the water. The only difference is the water will rise slowly, so people will have time to evacuate and plan when they will go.