3 ms·
Seeing a lot of people talk about how the density of water is going to change with a temperature change. I don't really think that's true. Liquid water density
by justsocrateasin 3y ago
Seeing a lot of people talk about how the density of water is going to change with a temperature change. I don't really think that's true. Liquid water density is pretty darn inelastic and almost fully incompressible. It's one of the reasons hydraulics works. Ice on the other hand has a pretty different density.
Water density table - https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/science/water-density https://www.usgs.gov/special-topics/water-science-school/sci...
If the temperature of the ocean changed by 10°F that would result in a .1% change in overall volume. Obviously that does make a difference because the ocean is so big, but it's a lot less consequential than ice, which is above the water, melting into the water and ice.
- kybernetikos 3y agoBut if the ice is floating, it should displace the same volume of water that it will melt into.
- nemo44x 3y agoIt's amazing how many people don't understand this. It displaces the same amount of water whether it is frozen and floating or melted. Easily tested by filling a glass with water and adding an ice cube and then drawing a line at the water level and letting the ice melt. The water level will be the same. Of course, if the ice is on land and melting into the ocean, that's different.
- somenameforme 3y agoKind of a nitpick but glaciers are made of less dense fresh water compared to the salt water of the ocean. So melting glaciers will slightly increase sea levels.
- SapporoChris 3y agoOh hey, what about the difference in density between fresh water and salt water? https://nsidc.org/news-analyses/news-stories/melting-floating-ice-will-raise-sea-level https://nsidc.org/news-analyses/news-stories/melting-floatin...