If Antarctica and Greenlands Ice Melted?

Question

London would be at threat as well as NY and Tokyo, Bombay, Netherlands and Florida, however how would the Globe look if all the ice-melted?

Daniel.

Answer 1

What if that happened, plus worldwide earthquakes were happening at an alarming rate? On top of that, global storms sweep across the country, causing power outages for everyone.

Answer 2

interesting...the globe would look the smae from space but in the real world...everyone would be miserable...the melting of the ice caused by global warming can cause flash floods streching miles and miles and from both end of the world at that too

Answer 3

Areas of

Antarctica: 5.5 million sq.miles (14 million km^2)

Greenland: 0.8 million sq.miles (2 million km^2)

Total         : 6.3 m. sq.miles (16 million km^2)

Various estimates indicate the height of ice stacked on these lands is a 1 km thick at least. With this as conservative estimate, the volume of ice is

16 million cubic km.

Specific Gravity (Density) of Ice is 0.92, or 1 cubic meter of Ice has a mass of 920 kg, which when it melts occupies

0.92 cubic meter.

When 16 mill. cu. km of ice melts to water of

16 X 0.92 = 14.72 mill. cu. km of volume of water.

This needs to be spread over

the total Seas/Oceans of

358 million square km.

This implies a height of

14.72/358 = 0.04111 km = 41.11 meters (=134' 10.3775").

A convenient estimate would be

[Area of Antarctica+Greenland X ice height] X 0.92

= [Area of Oceans X water rise].

Water rise = 0.92 X ave.ice height {[Ant.+Green]/[Oceans]}

= 0.92 {ratio of areas 'land/seas'}

=0.92 {16/358}

=0.92 X 0.0447

=0.04111.

This figure is convenient in the sense if the ave,ice height is revised by a factor of 'f', this figure gets multiplied by 'f'.

The link factor (ratio of areas) '22.375' is crucial.

All of this is a crude estimate, that is very much amenable for refinement based on finer data. Also the sea level may not rise vertically (cylindrically) but spreads laterally onto larger land areas where the shore slopes gently. In short the area of sea water (that was shown as 358 mill.sq.km) changes with shore 'contour'.