What Earth would look like if all the ice melted

[Midpack]

I hope this thread does not foster debate on climate change, and no POV is implied. I just thought the video was interesting. Shanghai? Miami?

http://youtu.be/VbiRNT_gWUQ

 

[timo2]

Geography is fun.

 

[JoeWras]

It would also be interesting to see what it looked like at max ice age ice. Bering Strait, Bosphorus, Gibratar, etc.

 

[calmloki]

Hmm. 40 and 168 feet above sea level for us. Best be finding those waders. hip boots. wet suits?

 

[ERD50]

Very interesting! Here's a (purely geographic, not political) view looking the other way - what if you put a drain in the deepest part of the ocean, and drained the water 'away' somewhere?

https://what-if.xkcd.com/53/

-ERD50

 

[Texas Proud]

Looks like China and the East Coast of the US are hit pretty hard....

India and Bangladesh take a hit also...

Some of the other places do not look like they are as populated...


This is not getting into climate change.... but I am watching a program on the history of the earth and looking at other planets... they were showing that the earth has been completely covered in ice two or three times... kinda boggles the mind the swings that happen....

 

[timo2]

Very interesting! Here's a (purely geographic, not political) view looking the other way - what if you put a drain in the deepest part of the ocean, and drained the water 'away' somewhere?

https://what-if.xkcd.com/53/

-ERD50

That is what will happen when the aliens from outer space come and take all of our water, like in the original 'V' tv miniseries (and countless other scifi)

 

[pb4uski]

Fascinating. I'm wondering... has there ever been a point in the last 1 million years where the ice cap has been melted? or when was the lowest point and highest point? IOW, is a total melt as illustrated in the video too extreme a scenario to be plausible or not... I have no idea.

We're at 1,725 feet here so I think we'll be ok.

 

[timo2]

What I have always thought was interesting is the dynamic between where the ice sheets were in the Pleistocene epoce Pleistocene Epoch: Facts About the Last Ice Age and their influence on the history of human agriculture. Things such as as the ice retreated, the temperate zones moved farther north, apparently. For instance, in the really ancient days, north africa used to have more arable land than desert.

 

[tulak]

Here's an interactive map I found a while ago where you can zoom in and look at the effects of sea level rise. There are limitations with the map, which are mentioned on the site, but it's still fun to play around with.

http://geology.com/sea-level-rise/

 

[timo2]

Here's an interactive map I found a while ago where you can zoom in and look at the effects of sea level rise. There are limitations with the map, which are mentioned on the site, but it's still fun to play around with.

Global Sea Level Rise Map - Global Warming & Climate Change Impact

nice interactive site. Fun to play with.

 

[Jimmer25]

Cool! Good chance I'll have water front property, finally!

 

[LinCella]

Earth

By the time I move to my next location, it is possible that in a decade or so I will have oceanfront property as well!

 

[Texas Proud]

Cool! Good chance I'll have water front property, finally!

At 40 meters I either will have ocean front or be in the ocean.... not quite sure...

I am surprised I am that high.... kinda flat around here and 30 meters covers most of the city.... so I would think I would get wet then...

 

[brewer12345]

At 5400 feet of elevation I think we are safe. Our usual worry is getting enough fresh water.

 

[TrvlBug]

At 518' elevation in the SF Bay Area and 17 miles from the Pacific... ...oceanfront property here we come .

 

[travelover]

Wouldn't want to be in Florida, if the water levels raised this much. It just kinda disappeared.

 

[JoeWras]

Wouldn't want to be in Florida, if the water levels raised this much. It just kinda disappeared.

If you live there, it is pretty obvious that not too long ago, Florida was under water. Whenever they build a new road, the scrapers just unveil a type of sea shell gravel that is persistent everywhere.

 

[Walt34]

By the time I move to my next location, it is possible that in a decade or so I will have oceanfront property as well!

I thought so too, but alas, not to be. Even with a 60m rise that only brings the ocean front about an hour closer. Still an hour and a half drive away. And the traffic would be even worse with all the displaced people.

 

[GrayHare]

There is a steady influx of water from comets that adds on the order of a millimeter per year to ocean depth. Some of this water escapes back to space in disassociated form (hydrogen, mostly), the rest remains. If this persists long enough Earth will turn into a water-covered planet.

 

[ls99]

Uh, hot topic, I see.

The world would look pretty good with the water rise. At over 1300 ft elevation at home and my mancave becoming beachfront property is not happening.


BTW there is areason Greenland has green as part of the name. At one time it was green.

 

[RunningBum]

BTW there is areason Greenland has green as part of the name. At one time it was green.

I thought it was a marketing ploy by the vikings to make it sound more pleasant and livable than it is.

 

[ls99]

I thought it was a marketing ploy by the vikings to make it sound more pleasant and livable than it is.

Ya, Erik the Red was pretty good:

"
Erik the Red's discovery of Greenland

It is for this reason that in the same year he sailed west and discovered a country with an inviting fjord landscape and fertile green valleys. He was extremely impressed with the new country's resources and he returned to Iceland to spread the word of "The green land".

Erik the Red clearly had great powers of persuasion because in 985 he set sail once more from the volcanic island leading a fleet of 25 ships on course for Greenland. Onboard were around 500 men and women, domestic animals and all the other elements required to create a new existence in a new country.
Of the 25 ships only 14 made it to their destination."

Erik the Red - the discovery of Greenland

 

[zerogravity]

I believe there is still a glacier lurking just beyond the shores of Lake Michigan. After I felt that icy breeze coming off the deceptively beautiful beach today- I am sure of it.

 

[rodi]

Here's an interactive map I found a while ago where you can zoom in and look at the effects of sea level rise. There are limitations with the map, which are mentioned on the site, but it's still fun to play around with.

Global Sea Level Rise Map - Global Warming & Climate Change Impact

Interesting link/tool. At 60M our house becomes ocean view instead of canyon view. At 40M it's a more distant ocean view - might not be able to see the water.

It's nice to be on a mesa.