4 ms·
If it breaks off, it raises the sea level immediately.
by friend_and_foe 2y ago
If it breaks off, it raises the sea level immediately.
- gmuslera 2y agoIt is not like it is floating above sea level and a last snip makes it to fall all at once into ocean water. Or yes, I don't know, I think that probably it will be more complex than that and take its own time (up to months?) for most of it to end there. But probably the process of melting will add a new layer of problems.
- friend_and_foe 2y agoMelting ice floating on water does not change the volume of the water at all. Melting will have no impact on sea level at all if the ice is already floating. It does have an impact on albedo. Shelves and on land glaciers are structurally held up. It's when they enter a floating state that sea level rises, and this is the only time ice can cause a sea level rise. If parts of the shelf are cracked, or otherwise the water is supporting them, then they're already floating and so breaking of the parts that are floating will also have no impact.