I saw this experiment and am now wonder what I am missing in understanding if ice sheets melt why should they causing the sea levels to rise if it doesn't in a container ?
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Ice cubes melting in salt water do cause an increase in level – David White Apr 22 '22 at 19:50
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Because the Antarctic ice isn't floating in water- most of it is attached to land. The same applies to glaciers all over the world.
Also the density of water is a function of temperature- if the oceans warm up, the water expands slightly. Unfortunately, "slightly" can correspond to a lot of height on the shores given how much water there is in the ocean.
(Floating ice actually does increase the water level a bit, because the floating ice is less saline than sea water. But it's largely a moot point because the vast majority of the world's ice is not floating in water to begin with).
Chris
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Not directly related, but noteworthy: too much freshwater in the North Atlantic can disrupt the Gulf Stream because of its lower density, which could mean unpredictable climate changes in Europe. – noah Apr 22 '22 at 19:48
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There are many "types" of sea-level rise, but the easiest answer to your question is that a large amount of ice that melts will melt from landmasses. Those landmasses will eventually rebound, but the rate will be far slower than the amount of time it takes the ice to melt. So you'll have a large amount of meltwater entering the oceans, relative sea level will rise, and after a few tens of thousands of years, the land will catch up (called Isostatic Rebound).
Stehmansmith5
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