this article doesnt do much to dispel the counterintuitive nature of the subject. 1) the mass of glacier sheets have gravity, so sea level is higher near glaci

this article doesnt do much to dispel the counterintuitive nature of the subject. 1) the mass of glacier sheets have gravity, so sea level is higher near glaciers 2) the weight of the glacier on the land its sitting on pushes the land into the water and raises sea level 3) when glaciers melt, they add water to the sea. however, the melting glacier removes gravitational mass and removes weight that was forcing the land it was sitting on into the water. the combination of these 3 effects is lowering the nearby sea level and raising the faraway sea level 4) the distance that makes a given spot nearby or faraway is dependent on the glacier sheet itself - how massive it is, its geometry, etc. the all-in, 3 dimensional accounting of where on the globe sea levels change for a given glacier melting is called its fingerprint. the article claims that the major glacier fingerprints are unique such that global sea level data points can identify, simultaneously, what percentage of all glaciers are melting. on a side note: the provided infographic is wrong - the yellow and green lines are touching at the edge of the glacier. its attempting to model pretty pictures in 3d with 2d lines, and its just not accurate. it sort of conveys the point, i guess, if you just squint and dont think about it.