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Posted by: capn_caveman 1 year, 7 months ago

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capn_caveman1 year, 7 months ago

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Actually floating sea ice will contribute to sea level rise:
http://nsidc.org/news/press/20050801_floatingic...

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    PapaWolf1 year, 7 months ago
    
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    When ice floating AT OR BELOW the water surface melts, there's no increase. When the ice is ABOVE the surface, that ice will displace the water.
    Try a little experiment. Fill 2 glasses with some water. In 1, put in just enough ice to stay below the water line. In the other, put enough ice so it's above the water line.
    Let me know what happens to the water in each glass.
    
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      GHOSTWHOWALKS1 year, 7 months ago
      
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      He'll have a mess to clean up. Hope there's a mop nearby.
      
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        PapaWolf1 year, 7 months ago
        
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        And I'm a mechanical engineer w/lots of heat transfer, thermo, fluids, physics, calculus, & a few other classes thrown in - as well as lots of years doing HVAC.
        And your article agrees with me - when ice is floating, water levels don't rise.
        But as Obaku pointed out, this is shelf ice connected to land. That's not floating in equilibrium.
        
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        PapaWolf1 year, 7 months ago
        
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        But the whole point of the article & discussion is SHELF ice, which is NOT floating in equilibrium.
        
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        PapaWolf1 year, 7 months ago
        
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        From basic mechanical engineering & physics, if it's originating on land & being partially supported by land, it is only partially being supported by the water. So it's not fully displacing its full weight in water. Especially if the larger percentage of its mass is still on land or resting on the sea floor.
        So, no. It's not end of story.
        
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        capn_caveman1 year, 7 months ago
        
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        Yeah, I read that many times over by now. You fail to realize that differences in salinity - as pointed out by the link I showed above - will cause water levels to rise. The link you provided is only valid when the water ice is of the same composition of the liquid water.
        
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      Obaku1 year, 7 months ago
      
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      Displacement. Why steel ships float.
      HOWEVER - there is another minor factor - shelf ice is not really floating - it is physically attached to land and may not be displacing all of it's weight. Nevertheless, this is not going to be significant in sea level rise.
      And as regards 'climate change' in general, there are many cycles, of various lengths, in play. From seasonal changes, to sun spot cycles, ocean conveyor currents and, yes repeated ice ages. The next ice age, however certain it may be, is not much of a concern if global average temperature rises 5 degrees before it begins cooling again. Unless you plan on living another 2000 years. Or the climate might have been trending into the next ice age already, and human action may be overwhelming that process. No way to tell, or to test the hypothesis.
      A really big volcanic eruption could make all of mankind's contribution to warming irrelevant for some time.
      
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        PapaWolf1 year, 7 months ago
        
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        >>Nevertheless, this is not going to be significant in sea level rise.
        If enough of the shelf ice, along w/land-based glaciers melt, there'll be a bit of a rise.
        
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    capn_caveman1 year, 7 months ago
    
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    Also from the article: "The common misconception that floating ice won't increase sea level when it melts occurs because the difference in density between fresh water and salt water is not taken into consideration."
    It depends on the composition of the ice.
    
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