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Raistlin · 08-01-2005, 01:49

Global warming won't cause an increase in sea-level, it's all hype from militant fluffy types trying to get us to eat Tofu!

<Pay attention - here comes the dodgy science bit >

When you put Ice in a glass of water what happens to the level of the water? It raises (of course it does). As the ice melts does the level of the water continue to raise? No, it actually falls.

The reason that Ice floats is that it is actually less dense than water (water becomes less dense as it cools, in a complete contradiction to the normal scheme of things) and therefore it actually displaces more water (due to the increased volume of the ice) than it contains - enabling it to float.

It therefore stands to reason that the volume of water being displaced by the polar ice caps (ie the amount by which the sea-level has already risen due to their formation) is greater than the volume of water contained within them. So, when they melt, the water contained within them will actually take up less volume than the ice does which means that the sea level should fall slightly.

Obviously there is a large amount of ice above the water but this is only a small amount of ice compared to what is below the surface (the tip of the iceberg if you will) and should therefore have an almost negligable effect. I would expect the net result of complete polar ice cap meltage to be that the sea-levels will remain pretty much as they are at the moment.

<Dons a flame-proof suit and waits patiently>

08-01-2005, 01:49	#39
Raistlin Inactive Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: There's no place like 127.0.0.1 Services: Depends on the person and the price they're offering Posts: 12,384	Re: It's getting windier. Global warming won't cause an increase in sea-level, it's all hype from militant fluffy types trying to get us to eat Tofu! <Pay attention - here comes the dodgy science bit > When you put Ice in a glass of water what happens to the level of the water? It raises (of course it does). As the ice melts does the level of the water continue to raise? No, it actually falls. The reason that Ice floats is that it is actually less dense than water (water becomes less dense as it cools, in a complete contradiction to the normal scheme of things) and therefore it actually displaces more water (due to the increased volume of the ice) than it contains - enabling it to float. It therefore stands to reason that the volume of water being displaced by the polar ice caps (ie the amount by which the sea-level has already risen due to their formation) is greater than the volume of water contained within them. So, when they melt, the water contained within them will actually take up less volume than the ice does which means that the sea level should fall slightly. Obviously there is a large amount of ice above the water but this is only a small amount of ice compared to what is below the surface (the tip of the iceberg if you will) and should therefore have an almost negligable effect. I would expect the net result of complete polar ice cap meltage to be that the sea-levels will remain pretty much as they are at the moment. <Dons a flame-proof suit and waits patiently>