Letters to the Editor
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oh, there's plenty of ice
"The sea level rises makes some climo people I know cringe; there simply isn't enough ice."
?
Antarctic ice cap: estimated at 62.5 million km3 (Spaulding & Markowitz, Heath Earth Science. Heath, 1994: 195.), 30 million km3 (World Book Encyclopedia. Chicago: World Book, 1999: 532), 30.1098 million km3 (Williams, Richard S. Jr., & Jane G. Ferrigno. Estimated present-day area and volume of glaciers and maximum sea level rise potential. Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. US Geological Survey), 25 million km3 (Schultz, Gwen. Ice Age Lost. 1974. 232, 75), 29 million km3 (Erickson, Jon. "Glacial Geology."1996, 161). Minimum estimate of these, 25 million km3.
Greenland ice cap: estimated at 5.1 million km3 (Spaulding & Markowitz), 2.8 million km3 (World Book Encyclopedia), 2.6 million km3 (Williams and Ferrigno), 2.6 million km3(Schultz). Minimum estimate of these, 2.6 million km3.
Total = > 27 million km3 of ice.
Volume of water = 0.9 X volume of ice = > 24 million km3 of water
Surface area of water on earth = 36 million km2
24 / 36 = > 0.6 km depth of water = 2,200 feet.
I'd say there's more than enough to raise sea level 20 feet, even accounting for any large errors on my part. And I'm glad to see that I'm not alone in this estimate:
"Anderson also said that although the volume of ice locked up in Greenland is equal to roughly 23 feet in sea rise, only a small fraction is likely to be "pulled out" during the next century, most of it through outlet glaciers." (Glaciers and Ice Caps to Dominate Sea Level Rise Through 21st Century, NSF Press Release 07-083)
"Antarctica and Greenland, the world's largest ice sheets, make up the vast majority of the Earth's ice. If these ice sheets melted entirely, sea level would rise by more than 70 meters." (State of the Cryosphere, National Snow and Ice Data Center http://nsidc.org/sotc/sea_level.html)
"Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey estimate that If all of the ice sitting on land in Greenland and Antarctica melted it would cause global sea levels to rise by about 215 feet, or about 65 meters." (How much would sea level rise if polar ice melted? Jack Williams, USATODAY.com http://www.usatoday.com/weather/resources/askjack/2004-11-21-melting-polar-ice_x.htm)