Sea Level Rises Less from Greenland, more from Antarctica

While worthy of debate within the scientific community, trying to separate the rise from the Greenland ice sheet from the Antarctic ice sheet may actually add to the confusion. We have more basic understanding to share than that nuance.

For example, most of the public erroneously believes that the melting polar ice cap contributes to sea level rise; it does not, since it is floating sea ice (like ice cubes floating in a glass -- they do not change the water level as they melt).

There are important variations that it is good to understand with this extremely important issue. Having spent the last two years researching this for a forthcoming book, my belief is that we are better off looking at the big picture, which adds clarity and certainty to the fact that the oceans will rise for centuries, and by a LOT.

The sooner we see the big picture the better, so that we start intelligent adaptation, rather than wasting money on projects that will be underwater later in the century. For more explanation and some illustrations, see my blog http://www.johnenglander.net/sea-level-rise-for-centuries

John Englander of FL 3:36PM August 02, 2011