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In reply to the discussion: Most Of Florida Will Be Underwater By 2100 - You Do Understand Right? [View all]karadax
(284 posts)57. Can we be sensible and not alarmist ?
Snipped from Museum of Natural History:
The simple answer is no. The whole world will never be underwater. But our coastlines would be very different.
If all the ice covering Antarctica, Greenland, and in mountain glaciers around the world were to melt, sea level would rise about 70 meters (230 feet). The ocean would cover all the coastal cities. And land area would shrink significantly. But many cities, such as Denver, would survive.
However, all the ice is not going to melt. The Antarctic ice cap, where most of the ice exists, has survived .
The concern is that portions of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice caps may disappear. We do not know how much or how quickly this could happen, because we do not know exactly how it will happen.
That's because the ice doesn't just melt. Ice actually flows down valleys like rivers of water
. The problem is that we do not completely understand the factors that control how rapidly the ice flows and thus enters the ocean.
One way to approach the problem of not understanding the process is to study how sea level changed in the past. Earth
is nearly as warm now as it was during the last interglacial period, about 125,000 years ago. At that time, sea level was 4 to 6 meters (13-20 feet) higher. It seems that this higher sea level was due to the melting Greenland and West Antarctic ice caps.
Perhaps a similar sea level rise is our future. We don't know. We also don't know how rapidly sea level could rise. Will a 4-meter (13-foot) increase take 200, 500, or even 1,000 years? This is a question that a number of scientists are now trying to answer by studying how ice moves.
If all the ice covering Antarctica, Greenland, and in mountain glaciers around the world were to melt, sea level would rise about 70 meters (230 feet). The ocean would cover all the coastal cities. And land area would shrink significantly. But many cities, such as Denver, would survive.
However, all the ice is not going to melt. The Antarctic ice cap, where most of the ice exists, has survived .
The concern is that portions of the Greenland and West Antarctic ice caps may disappear. We do not know how much or how quickly this could happen, because we do not know exactly how it will happen.
That's because the ice doesn't just melt. Ice actually flows down valleys like rivers of water
. The problem is that we do not completely understand the factors that control how rapidly the ice flows and thus enters the ocean.
One way to approach the problem of not understanding the process is to study how sea level changed in the past. Earth
is nearly as warm now as it was during the last interglacial period, about 125,000 years ago. At that time, sea level was 4 to 6 meters (13-20 feet) higher. It seems that this higher sea level was due to the melting Greenland and West Antarctic ice caps.
Perhaps a similar sea level rise is our future. We don't know. We also don't know how rapidly sea level could rise. Will a 4-meter (13-foot) increase take 200, 500, or even 1,000 years? This is a question that a number of scientists are now trying to answer by studying how ice moves.
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Most Of Florida Will Be Underwater By 2100 - You Do Understand Right? [View all]
TaterBake
Dec 2016
OP
What does that have to do with most of Florida being underwater in eighty-three years? nt.
NCTraveler
Dec 2016
#4
Put three ice cubes in a glass then fill it within 1/4 inch of the top.
liberal N proud
Dec 2016
#28
Burning anything causes global warming. Weed, the TN state parks, incense, a well done steak....
HoneyBadger
Dec 2016
#39
The fires, flooding, and sea level changes are all caused by climate change. n/t
pnwmom
Dec 2016
#59
Again, what does that have to do with most of Florida being underwater in just over eighty years? nt
NCTraveler
Dec 2016
#6
there is someone here arguing otherwise? Someone here is arguing against climate change?
DrDan
Dec 2016
#3
And much of Miami was under water in 1920 - want to buy some Florida swampland
FarCenter
Dec 2016
#15
Scientists have been working on this for decades. Yet climate deniers get elected as POTUS
NickB79
Dec 2016
#19
Oddly enough, one of the more feasible plans for Carbon elimination I've seen was in Science Fiction
Hugin
Dec 2016
#45
The high-end projections have a 5-foot sea level rise resulting in only that portion
LanternWaste
Dec 2016
#14
The highest natural land area in Florida is a little over 200 ft above sea level.
haele
Dec 2016
#21
Well, at least the Trump clan will be locked away in their cryogenic freezers by then. (nm)
Elwood P Dowd
Dec 2016
#26
Greenland would equal about 20 feet; Antarctica about 200 feet in sea level rise
hatrack
Dec 2016
#38