What is the total volume of the ice sheeton Antarctica in cubic kilometers? (Hint You need only two of the pieces of data listed above)
fall this ice were to melt what volume of liquid water would it represent?
Suprose all the water from the melted ice flowed into Earth's oceans Assume that the total
surface area of the oceans does not change that is the oceans stay in the same basin.
rather than spreading out over the continents. How much would sea level rise? Give your
answer in kilometers meters and feet. (Sonus Do you think the
assumption of the ocean surface area staying constant is valid?
Why or why not?)
The Greenland ice sheet contains about 10% as much ice as
the Antarctic ice sheet. How much would sea level rise if the
Greenland ice sheet melted?
Discuss: While melting of the Antarctic or Greenland ice sheet
would raise sea level melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean would
not. Why? Can you think of any other potential consequences
of melting of ice in the Arctic Ocean?
Discuss Global warming is expected to cause melting of the
polar ice sheets, but scientists cannot yet predict how fast
the ice will melt. Given this uncertainty, how should the dar
ger of polar melting be dealt with in political discussions of
global warming?