The Earth contains around five million cubic miles of ice and 80 per cent of this is in East Antarctica ice sheet alone
Scientists believe it would take more than 5,000 years for all the Earth’s ice to melt
Earth hasn’t been ice-free since the Eocene epoch – a period of increased temperatures 34 million years ago
If this was repeated, sea levels could rise by 216 feet changing shorelines and engulfing entire cities worldwide
National Geographic has created a series of maps showing what continents would look like if the Earth’s ice melted
By
Victoria Woollaston
PUBLISHED:
10:53 EST, 6 November 2013
|
UPDATED:
07:50 EST, 7 November 2013
Ice sheets surrounding the North and South poles make up 10 per cent of our entire planet’s surface, and it’s thought Earth contains five million cubic miles of frozen water – so what would happen if it all melted?
National Geographic has created a series of interactive maps demonstrating the catastrophic effect Earth’s ice could cause if it melted and flowed into the oceans and seas.
This could cause sea levels to rise by 216 feet, devouring cities and even countries all the while drastically altering how continents and coastlines look, and wiping out entire populations.
If these ice sheets melted, the rest of the world would be affected. In Europe, pictured, cities including London and Venice would be lost underwater, as would the whole of the Netherlands and most of Denmark. It would also cause the Mediterranean to expand and swell the Black and Caspian Seas
How Britain would look if the ice sheets melted. A large proportion of the country would be left underwater
Scientists believe it could take around 5,000 years for temperatures to rise significantly enough to melt all the ice on the planet, but claim the planet is already seeing the beginnings of this.
Over the past century, reports suggest the Earth’s temperature has increased by around half a degree Celsius and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this has already caused sea levels to rise by around seven inches.
The largest concentrations of ice on Earth are found in Greenland and Antarctica but it is also found on exposed areas, on mountain tops and in other regions.
The East Antarctica ice sheet, for example, is so
large it contains around 80 per cent of all the ice on the planet and
its size has protected it previously during warmer periods in Earth’s
history.
This includes during the Eocene epoch -
a period of increased global temperatures that lasted from 56 to 34
million years ago.
During
this period of time, little to no ice was present on Earth and there was
little difference in temperature at the equator compared to the poles.
Warming oceans are already melting the floating ice sheet in west Antarctica and since 1992, National Geographic reports the sheet has lost around 65 million metric tonnes of ice each year.
The ice sheets in Greenland and west
Antarctica shrank significantly during the epoch and if temperatures
were to rise in a similar manner again, the ice sheets across the
regions could disappear into the sea completely.
The last time the Earth was ice-free was 34 million years ago during the Eocene epoch. If this happened again, the entire Atlantic seaboard in the U.S would vanish, wiping out Florida and the Gulf Coast. While the hills in San Francisco would become islands and San Diego would be lost forever
If these sheets melted, it would create a knock-on effect for the rest of the world.
In Europe, for example, cities including London and Venice would be lost underwater, as would the whole of the Netherlands and most of Denmark. It would also cause the Mediterranean to expand and swell the Black and Caspian Seas.
The EPA claims that overall ice reduction depends on several factors, including the rate at which levels of greenhouse gases rise and how global temperatures react to this increase in gas.
The largest concentrations of ice on Earth are found in Greenland and Antarctica, pictured. Warming oceans are already melting the floating ice sheet in west Antarctica and since 1992, National Geographic reports the sheet loses around 65 million metric tonnes each year. If they melted it could cause the sea levels to rise globally by 216 feet
WHAT WAS THE EOCENE EPOCH?
The Eocene epoch was a period of increased global temperatures that lasted from 56 to 34 million years ago.
During this period of time, little to no ice was found on Earth and there was little difference in temperature at the equator compared to the poles.
The planet slowly cooled as carbon dioxide from the air locked inside seafloor sediments.
During this decrease ice began to reappear at the poles, and the Antarctic ice sheet began to expand rapidly.
This rise in greenhouse gases could be caused by humans, as National Geographic explained: ‘If we burn all the Earth’s supply of coal, oil, and gas, adding some five trillion more tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere, we’ll create a very hot planet with an average temperature of perhaps 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the current 58. Large swaths of it might become too hot for humans.’
This would make the Earth ice-free for the first time in 34 million years.
If this happened, the entire Atlantic seaboard in the U.S would vanish, wiping out Florida and the Gulf Coast. While the hills in San Francisco would become islands and San Diego would be lost forever.
In the east, China and Bangladesh would both be completely flooded, wiping out around 760 million people based on current population levels.The coastlines of India would also be reduced.
Whereas in South America, the Amazon Basin and the Paraguay River Basin would both become Atlantic inlets and this would wipe out Buenos Aires, coastal Uruguay, and some of Paraguay.
The only areas that would survive are mountainous stretches along the Caribbean coast and in Central America.
The other continents would escape a little more lightly, but would still be affected.
In the east, parts of Asia, including China and Bangladesh would be completely flooded, wiping out around 760 million people based on current population levels. Parts of India’s coastline would also be lost and eroded inland. National Geographic said: ‘If we burn all the Earth’s supply of coal, oil, and gas, adding some five trillion more tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere, we’ll create a very hot planet with an average temperature of perhaps 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the current 58′
In Africa, for example, Egypt, Alexandria and Cairo would be flooded but the continent wouldn’t lose as much of its land to the rising seas. National Geographic claims the Earth’s rising heat ‘might make much of it inhabitable’ though.
Australia would gain a new inland sea but it ‘would lose much of the narrow coastal strip where four out of five Australians now live.’
SOURCES: Philippe Huybrechts, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Richard S Williams, JR., Woods Hole Research center; James C. Zachos, University of Claifornia, Santa Cruz; USGS; NOAA, ETOPO1 Bedrock, 1 Arc-Minute Global Relief Model © SEPTEMBER 2013 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
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bhqz,
Tennessee USA,
1 day ago
The basis of this article is absurd. “What if?” What if the National Geographic Society weren’t political pawns? Would the water levels rise just as high then? Professing to be wise, they became fools.
matt,
canada,
1 day ago
should of did more research on inland elevations and not just those connected to the coast, lakes, rivers, sloughs, creeks, moors, bogs, lochs, tributaries and low lying areas would also come to hold many millions of tonnes of water. in addition the warmer climate would allow the atmosphere to hold more moisture in the form of both humidity and clouds, which is many more time the surface are of the earth if you don’t think that adds up either
Asok Asus,
Denver,
1 day ago
“scientists say it would take more than 5,000 years to melt it all. If we continue adding carbon to the atmosphere, we¿ll very likely create an ice-free planet, with an average temperature of perhaps 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the current 58″
So NatGeo’s theory is that they can precisely predict the climate for the next 5,000 years based solely on mankind existing for 5,000 years, having a 5,000 year supply of carbon sources to burn, developing no other energy sources for 5,000 years, and that there are no other climate-changing factors besides those in 5,000 years. I guess that makes sense. To a Democrat.
max,
london, United Kingdom,
1 day ago
These experts who claim climate change is BS read the DM. Case closed.
Jay,
London,
2 days ago
Hopefully Scotland will take me in, vote to stay apart of the Union please!
TheBigT,
Peterhead – Scotland,
2 days ago
Seems to me that every year people use their cars, power in their homes etc with little apparent effect to the weather. Yet one mediocre volcanic eruption causes massive changes to the weather patterns for years! Who is trying to kid who exactly? As there are several eruptions going on just now I am far more inclined to believe they are having a profound effect on the planet than we are. So come on Mr Fixit Cameron, tax them instead of us!
Phil,
Hull,
2 days ago
You ‘believe’ volcanoes produce more CO2 than humans, this is a science article not a religion, scientists don’t base their data on ‘beliefs’.
Do some research into Volcanic CO2 verses Man made CO2
robinoz,
Perth, Australia,
2 days ago
A far more likely scenario that would cause all the ice to melt is a pole shift like the one that caused Noah’s flood at the moment the North Pole is shifting Quite dramatically something that mainstream media seem to ignore. This would be a far bigger disaster than any so called man made greenhouse effect it would wipe out so many of us,set of so many volcanos earthquakes iit would cause another ice age problem solved.
Phil,
Hull,
2 days ago
I despair at the woeful state of science education of many of the posters on this site
vicesa,
Huncoat Lancs,
2 days ago
Is there any point to this article? Why not create the opposite effect of all the land freezing over like the last ice age and publish that? Who pays these twerps wages to come up with this stuff and why?
Luke,
Essex, United Kingdom,
2 days ago
Half a degree celcius? We better start scratching our heads and act quickly! -_-
Matthews,
Chichester, United Kingdom,
2 days ago
For all the Frightened People out there. LISTEN.
When an Iceberg melts, another will reappear at a different location!
If a rather large Iceberg were to break off and suddenly melt, there would be a huge storm which would then create another berg, somewhere else. (Let me elaborate
Icebergs hold Fresh water NOT Salty.
The Ocean holds a delicate balance of salty water, which CANNOT sustain a dilution for long.
When a rather large iceberg DOES melt and go into the sea, Which Happens all the time, the sea becomes diluted (which it doesn’t like) so it forms a reaction which is called a storm, which then spits back out all the fresh water which was dumped in there to form another Iceberg.
think of Ice as surface water or you know how oil and water don’t mix, ‘Well there you have it.
Phil,
Hull,
2 days ago
This is complete nonsense, do you have any GCSE’s or are you under 12 ?
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