Question

the surface of earth is 71% covered by water according to the USGS, there is 24,064,000 km^3 of water in ice caps, glaciers and snow. If all the ice and snow were to melt and flow into the oceans, calculate how much the average sea level rise.

Answer 1

Calculation of Sea Level Rise from Melting Ice

Given:

• Total ice volume = $24,064,000{\text{km}}^3=2.4064\times 10^7{\text{km}}^3$

• Earth’s surface area = $510.1\times 10^6{\text{km}}^2$

• Ocean coverage = $71\mathrm{\%}$ → Ocean area = $0.71\times 510.1\times 10^6=3.6217\times 10^8{\text{km}}^2$

Formula:

$$\text{Sea level rise}=\frac{\text{Volume of melted ice}}{\text{Ocean surface area}}$$

Calculation:

$$\text{Sea level rise}=\frac{2.4064\times 10^7{\text{km}}^3}{3.6217\times 10^8{\text{km}}^2}=0.0664\text{km}=66.4\text{m}$$

Answer:
If all ice melted, the average sea level would rise by ~66.4 meters.