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The ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica contain massive amounts of frozen water (i.e ice) that, if broken off or melted, for instance from extended global warming or from outward ice flow, would go largely into the oceans. In views of the vast size of the oceans, covering over 70% of the Earth's surface area, many people might at first think that the addition of ice or melted ice from the ice sheets would have little impact on global sea level. The numbers prove otherwise, however, and doing the calculations helps to instill this fact as well as recognition of the vast size of the Earth's two major ice sheets. The Antarctic ice sheet, for instance has an area far exceeding the area of the United States and over sizable region its ice extends to a depth of greater than 2 miles (3.2 kilometers.)
Exzercise: Determine the amount that sea level would rise, averaged around the globe, in response to the complete melting of (a) the Greenland ice sheet, (b) the Antarctic ice sheet, and (c) both the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets.
Needed Information: The calculations require the area of the Earth's oceans and major seas, the volume of the ice sheets overlying land, the densities of ice and water, and knowledge that glacier ice is fresh-water ice rather than sea-water ice. Some of this information is given below:
Ice Sheet Areas and Thickness:
Ice Sheet:
Greenland- 1,736,096 km2
Antarctica 11,965,700 km2
Average Thickness:
Greenland- 1.50 km
Antarctica- 2.45 km
Densities:
Fresh Water - Density = Approximately 1000km per cubic meter
Glacier Ice - Density = Approximately 900km per cubic meter (generally between 830 and 917)
Originally Posted by matgrl 
