I have an embarrasingly naive question about global warming....

[UpsideDownFlag]

okay, it goes like this. I was drinking a glass of water and studying the other day, and fell asleep. when i woke up, i noticed that my ice cubes had melted, but the water level had stayed the same. Could the same thing be said for icebergs melting because of global warming- You know, the water level staying the same? If so, then why, besides icecaps, is GW a problem? I mean this a a genuine question, it's been bugging me for a few days now.

:dunce:

[sangh0]

1. Several things

1) How sure are you that water level didn't change? I'm not attacking you about this, but it didn't sound very scientific.

2) Much of the water in the ice caps is now above sea level.

If so, then why, besides icecaps, is GW a problem?

The change in climate will wreak havoc on agriculture. Trees can't move north to cooler climate. We'll lose all the trees, and the genetic diversity they represent (in all the organisms that depend on those trees) because they can't adapt to the new climate fast enough.

[madrchsod]

5. plus more fresh water in the gulf stream

will flip the stream and cause an ice age...nice thought isn`t it-thanks george ,you`re a real pal...

[UpsideDownFlag]

6. i hadnt thought about that.

the difference between a 4 inch wide cup and the ocean is probably appreciable. along with the other points you made.

[sangh0]

7. I really liked the understatement

of "the difference between a 4 inch wide cup and the ocean is probably appreciable"

[UpsideDownFlag]

8. i have found that being understating works better for me.

and is easier than saying 'gosh. im a dipshit'.

[sangh0]

11. I can see that

I don't think "Gosh I'm a dipshit" would work for me either :-)

[indigobusiness]

19. "Gosh I'm a dipshit"

does have a certain charm, though. I could've worn it out.

[indigobusiness]

2. The ice on Greenland and Antarctica

will add to the volume of the oceans (once it melts) because most of it is on land.

The Arctic ice-cap over water, won't add anything.


edit- the liquid level in your glass should've lowered a bit.

[AP]

17. And also snow in glaciers and on mountaintops will melt...until ice age...

...starts thanks to the convection system breaking down.

[roguevalley]

3. No. It means that the water level will rise. Even a few inches is

disastrous. There are islands in the Pacific that are beginning to disappear. Its tragic and preventable. And remember, the only embarrassingly naive question is the one not asked. Huggies from a
former teacher,

RV

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

4. I'm not sure, but

I think that the volume of ice melt would be much greater on a global scale. And I think they are talking of ocean rise in terms of centimeters rather than meters.

The main concern I have about global warming is that the fresh water melt in the northern American hemisphere could have an effect on the Gulf Stream, basically turing off the conveyor that moves warm water north, which gives Europe a much warmer climate than they'd have for their latitude.

[madrchsod]

9. one benefit is that it

would pretty much eliminate Florida from ever voting republican again....

[fnottr]

10. true

actually, the ice melting would cause the water level to go down a little since ice is less dense than water (evaporation notwithstanding). However, imagine that the cup was already filled to the brim with a combination of ice and water, and then you stacked more ice cubes on top of the ice in the water. That's the situation we have on earth with iceburgs and glaciers and such. When all that ice melts, your cup is going to spill and make a big mess.

[Jurgis]

14. Displacement of ice.

Actually, his initial observations were correct. The water level did not change. This is due to the displacement of the the (less dense) ice being the same in solid form as in liquid form (water). However, this applies to ice floating on water, only. Ice accumulated on land that melts and runs off into the sea will increase sea-levels proportionate to volume.

[ET Awful]

18. Bingo.

For all intents and purposes, a chunk of ice melting in water will not alter the water level because it was previously displacing an equal amount of water with a solid.

BUT, the climate changes are still an issue, and a major one. As warming occurs, water evaporates more quickly, this results in more precipitation. The warming of large bodies of water also affects currents. This results in further climate change (such as more storms, uncharacteristically warm or cold weather for the season, etc.)

[progressoid]

12. Another issue with GW in not just ice melt but water expansion

As water warms it increases in volume. But the biggest issue with rapid climate change may come with a rapid ice age. In a matter of years. Even the Defense dept sees this an enormous threat. Bigger than terrorism. Your gov't is planning for various scenarios if this should happen. Yea!

Read this one by Thom Hartmann:

http://www.commondreams.org/views04/0130-11.htm


BTW the West Antarctic Ice Sheet, which holds about 3 million cubic kilometers of fresh water. Were it to melt, sea level would rise 20 feet. But that's probably take a while. I'd worry more about the Great Conveyor Belt.

[eyepaddle]

13. It's pretty much been covered by other posters but

yes, it's the melting Ice which is currently not in the oceans which will cause a sea level rise. The Ice over much of Antarctica is aprroximately 10,000 feet thick. There is little controversy about how much sea level would rise due to melting icecaps.

Add to that widespread alteration of ecosystems--e.g. species habing to move higher up a mountainside in order to survive--wgar happens to them when there is no "higher" left? This also means that tropical diseases will move into formerly non-tropical areas. Think how much fun we are having with West Nile virus, how much cooler would it be if it were Dengue or Malaria we were dealing with?

And it goes on and on........

[Sal Minella]

15. Any floating object displaces its weight in water --

so the quantity of water from your ice cubes was the same as the quantity of water displaced by the ice below-surface.

but if you suspended an ice cube on a fork over your water glass, the melting would cause a rise in the water level of the glass -- and this is the case with the Antarctic ice cap and the Greenland ice cap -- their mass rests on elevated land, and the melting will raise the sea level. Floating icebergs will not cause a rise when they melt, but glaciers melting in mountain ranges will.

[Threedifferentones]

16. One thing to keep in mind

is that it is not entirely certain what the effects of GW will be. From what I have read rising water levels are only a threat because there are so many cities on the coasts. This is really only a minor threat compared to what could happen, however. The climate changes and other effects are potentially devastating to life around the world if what some scientists have said turns out to be true.


3DO

[NurseLefty]

20. Supposedly Limbaugh has been using the ice-cube analogy

to defend his anti-environment position about GW. (Per Randi Rhodes on AAR).

[canuckforpeace]

21. In the short term

Life forms in the north that have adapted to that environment will go extinct, Polar Bears for instance. Inuit communities are also threatened.

[MercutioATC]

22. Your experiment was flawed. HERE'S the real experiment:

Take a bowl.

Fill it with ice...heaping full...over the rim.

Fill with water to the rim of the bowl.

Wait.

The ice below the level of the water represents ice existing below sea level. The ice above the level of the water represents ice either on landmass or that which stands above sea level.

The water level (in this case, at the rim of the bowl) represents sea level.

When the ice below "sea level" melts, there's a very slight reduction in volume (ice takes up more space than water). However, when the ice ABOVE "sea level" melts, there's a much bigger increase in the volume, resulting in a higher "sea level" (or, in this experiment, a wet floor).