The world was a much different place when the temps were much higher in the past, though. Glaciation and "ice ages" didn't occur until the continents started moving apart from each other. Prior to that point in time, I would suspect that a much larger portion of the Earth was covered in water (since it obviously wasn't ice).

Just because higher global temps have been recorded in the past doesn't mean that the current warming isn't a product of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The world is a very different place now than it was then.

Mike

Damn! I was hoping that I'd end up with beachfront property. :(

It is not so much the ice melting that will make the sea level rise, but rather the water expansion due to the increase in ocean temperatures.

Aurel

huh?

I am also going to place a flat rock in a bowl. I will fill it with water up to the edge of the rock. I will put all the ice on the rock. I will measure the water level. Then I will watch the ice melt. After total melt down I will measure the water level again. I will also mark the location of Jim’s house on the rock and measure the distance to the water’s edge before and after total meltdown. I will report back tomorrow.

Your experiment with ice cubes is quite pointless.

Ice cubes are full of trapped air. So when they melt, they actually lower the water level - because the air trapped inside the ice displaces a significant amount of water.

Glacial ice is however very dense, and does not contain air bubbles. When glacial ice melts, water levels rise.

I know this, because we used to sail up the Alaska coast and fill the freezer full of glacial ice for our Scotch. A chunk of glacial ice is completely clear and looks like an uncut diamond. It will sit in your Scotch glass all night without melting.

What is it you don`t understand about thermal expansion?

Aurel

Seriously....

Shawn, I appreciate your experiment. It might be worthwhile to consider that my Jetta is parked a few levels underground in the building's garage. Will I have to abandon it? Thankfully, my Porsche is tucked away safely in a higher, dryer location.

Educate yourselves some more:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea_level_rise

Aurel

The sea once covered over half of South Carolina, shall I get excited over a 17 inch rise over the next 100 years now, or wait?

So if glacial ice can sit in a glass of Scotch and never melt then this whole "ice caps melting" thing is total paranoia.

Jim how far underground is the Jetta? I will need this figure to make this an accurate experiment.

Certainly we understand thermal expansion, but I honestly can't believe thermal expansion will be the cause of catastrophic rises.

It is ofcourse difficult to think on such large scale but what percent increase in volume is there per degree?

It would appear so.

Figure 50 feet, Shawn. :)

I found this, someone do the math:D

Due to the high specific heat and low conductivity of water, only the uppermost 10% of the oceans is able to undergo any significant temperature change.
The natural variation in ocean levels is about 10 cm from September to March.

By how much does the mean temperature of the upper ocean change during this time?

Global warming is likely to cause a rise in sea level for a number of reasons, one of which is the thermal expansion of water. Determine the rise in sea level for every 1.0 C° temperature increase in the upper ocean.

Data for the Oceans
surface area 3.61 × 1014 m2
mean depth 3794 m
mean temperature, overall 3.5 °C
mean temperature, top 10% 10 °C

Others have done it already:

"For the period 1985-2025 the estimate of greenhouse-gas-induced warming is 0.6-1.0°C. The concomitant oceanic thermal expansion would raise sea level by 4-8 cm."

http://sedac.ciesin.columbia.edu/mva/WR1987/WR1987.html

Aurel

Not a catastrophic rise, I`ll give you that :)

Aurel

So if the oceans rise but the moon is farther away, then the tide won’t come in as far? Pretty much even steven right?

There is no "greenhouse gas" induced warming. That's alchemy at its' finest. If Global Warming is occuring, it's a natural and expected phenomenon that has occurrd many times in the past. Further, as has been pointed out here several times, the recovery from the last ice age is still underway. So, of course, the earth is getting warmer, it's about time.