Why...

[WeeDee]

If the ice, over land masses, melts - more melt water will run off the land and into the oceans - sea levels will rise.

Think of the ice cube melting on your hand and then running into your glass.

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Ice burgs are the tip as they say, but a heck of a lot of air is in it and so displaces more than it actualy contains in water. the problem with particulary glacial ice (the blue ice) is that it contains no air, so it is volume for volume water.

 

All ice is not created equal http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_ice_(glacial)

 

apparently there is a very old map (300 years) that shows the antarctic continents land profiles. Only in recent times with military equipment have they found the map acurate, so it was not always under ice. global warming happens, climates change as do animal populations, its perfectly normal.

 

The main problem is we dont want to die, so panic at the prospect of being brought down to the same evolutionary vulnerable level as the other animals!

[farmer rod]

Here's something to ponder

 

When you put Ice in your drink, the ice melts and the water level doesn't rise, why are people saying sea levels are rising because the ice caps are melting?

 

 

with the drink you take a big slurp, the sea, no thanks all that ..it in there

[Dilz]

live on a boat and then dont care....

[john k]

Id like to take the credit for the idea but it was a mate of mine that asked if he tied a piece of freshly buttered toast to a cats back and the cat fell out of a tree would it land on its feet or would the butter end up dirty,

 

Neither. It creates a Buttered Feline Antigravity Drive!

[Tony Croft aka hamadryad]

Neither. It creates a Buttered Feline Antigravity Drive!

 

cool!

[Chalgravesteve]

The ice in your drink is a solid which displaces a similar volume of liquid. As it melts, the volume of the solid is reduced and the volume of the liquid is increased.

 

Likeitorlumpit is correct that a significant volume of the ice caps arenot actually submerged in water at the moment, therefore as they melt they increase the volume of the liquid form and sea levels will rise.....

 

however, you then have to factor in that global warming means that the increase in the temperatures of the atmosphere, will increase the rate at which liquid water evapourates at higher temperatures, which should combat the rise in sea levels as more is evapourated becasue the temperatures are higher. This puts more water in the form of a gas into the atmosphere, which all then collects over the UK and it absolutely p*sses down and floods everywhere.

 

The heavy rainfall is especially useful for washing the butter off your chainsaw.....