We've heard the horror stories about volatile weather systems and flooding and we're plenty scared. Well I may not know much about how the weather works but I think I have a pretty good grasp on how water freezes and how ice melts. We're to believe that as the polar caps melt the ocean levels rise and if we don't stop it, Earth will be completely flooded! I'm here to say, "Not so!"Experiment time. Take an empty glass. Fill it with ice. Now fill the glass with water right up to the rim. Set the glass on a level surface until the ice melts. What's happens to the water level? Did it spill over as the ice melted? No! It stayed right at the rim becuase the water level was already displaced by the ice.
I agree that we need to take care of our environment. I understand that the flooding of the Earth isn't the only problem we're facing. But I believe that a line has to be drawn at trying to scare the crap out of people with science that may not be completely on the up-and-up.
1 comment:
You think all that ice is sitting in the water, slick?
The problem comes when the ice is melting from a land mass. Then the ice is not displacing its own weight of water so as it melts it adds to to water already in the oceans and sea level rises.
The Northern Polar regions are floating so sea level will not be affected if it melts. The Greenland Ice Cap on the other hands is on land so, if that melts, it will affect sea levels.
The South Polar region is on land but the pack ice around it is floating so the pack ice can melt without affecting sea levels whereas the Pole itself will have a major impact on sea levels if it melts.
Your analogy is better served if you put an ice cube in a strainer above the glass.
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