Global Warming And The Sea Level
The ice age was caused by five degrees Celsius over a period of thousands of years so what can happen if the earth’s temperature should increase just a few degrees over a few hundred years? We do not have a clear answer to that question. Weather is complex and when we attempt to predict future climate, all we can come up with is an educated guess based on historic climate changes.
Glaciers are melting at a rapid rate and this can cause global warming to happen faster. When the sun’s energy is reflected away from the earth and melting glaciers, this can result in rising sea levels. The slightest rise in the sea level can cause floods in low-lying coastal areas. If the Antarctic ice sheet should melt and fall into the sea it would increase the levels up to ten meters (about 32 feet) and can cause many coastal areas to disappear under the ocean. The sea levels rose 6.7 inches in the Twentieth Century. The levels of the sea will continue to rise through the Twenty First Century increasing their levels between 7 to 22 inches by the year 2100. The ocean levels will perhaps rise more than predicted but there is not sufficient data at this time. If the ocean’s overall temperature rises than the tropical storms and hurricanes could increase in force.
Antarctica (South Pole) has ninety percent of the world’s ice and seventy percent of the world’s fresh water. The ice covering Antarctica is 7,000 feet thick. If all of that ice were to melt the seal levels throughout the world would rise two hundred feet. There is no danger of all of that ice melting because the average temperature in Antarctica is thirty-seven degrees Celsius and never gets above freezing. In the North Pole, however, the ice is not as thick and floats on the Arctic Ocean. If the ice in the North Pole were to melt, sea levels would not be affected. The only other amount of ice that would influence a rise of sea level is in Greenland which would cause a rise of twenty feet if it melted.
