the pole caps melt? You would think that if the pole caps melt, the water level would drop or at least stay the same, for ice is filled with air. The weight of the pole caps in the condition it is now, keeps the water level as it is now. When the ice melts, air wil escape, water flows into the ocean. It shouldn't make any difference for the water level, then...

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ice stays above the water when it is hard (icebergs and glaciers), once it is melted it mixes with water it increases the amount of water.

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The amount of air in ice is insignificant; just enough to make it look cloudy.Since the ice caps on Greenland and Antarctica are above sea level, their melting would raise the average sea level by over 60 meters (according to the Wikipedia entry for Antarctica).

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You have a misconception regarding ice which is mostly water, not air. In fact, polar ice is compacted by the weight of the ice levels and snow above it so there is no air and the water molecules are squished. The molecular makeup of water is H2O (two molecules Hydrogen to one of Oxygen). These are not easily separated by natural means so heated water becomes steam or water vapor, falls back to Earth as rain and can be frozen together as ice. Water levels will rise as the ice melts. All the scientists are acknowledging that, although they dispute how high and how soon. Politicians will tell you that it'll be about a foot in the next century because they don't want to do anything about it. The most conservative scientists agree with that. Those scientists who have studied the matter and have no political ties (very few) are more likely to say five to ten feet in the next century. Science fiction authors (a very informed group) have predicted the ultimate rise will be 120 feet. They tend to have very quick timetables because it makes for better fiction. Different factors must be taken into account. IF the ice melting in Greenland rejoins the oceans gradually, the sea level rise will be more gradual. If it suddenly gets released (like Al Gore has predicted), sea level rise will be dramatic. All I really know is I'm high and dry in Wyoming and the only thing that really concerns me is how property levels will rise as the coasters try to move here.

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while a large portion of ice might contain air, it also contains frozen water. and there most icebergs/ice shelves are 500+ feet above sea level, they can be up to 2 miles thick. therefore the may displcae some water like an ice cube, but the will contribute much more water to the ocean (if that makes any sense).

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