Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Ice sheet facts

Fact 1: The melting of the North Pole ice sheet would not have an significant effect on the sea level. This is due to the ice sheet forming over the arctic sea and displacing the volume of water that has weight equal to the ice sheet.

Fact 2: The melting of the South Pole ice sheet would have a significant effect on the sea level. This is because the ice sheet was formed over land. The melting ice would drain into the ocean and raise the sea level. Some estimates place the increase of the sea level if all the ice were to melt at about 200 feet.

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