If the global climate were to warm significantly as a result of the greenhouse e
ID: 3106004 • Letter: I
Question
If the global climate were to warmsignificantly as a result of the greenhouse effect or
other climatic change, the Arctic ice cap would start
to melt. This ice cap contains the equivalent of some
680,000 cubic miles of water. More than 200 million
people live on land that is less than 3 feet above sea
level. In the United States several large cities have
low average elevations. Three examples are Boston
(14 feet), New Orleans (4 feet), and San Diego (13
feet). In this exercise you are to estimate the rise in
sea level if the Arctic ice cap were to melt and to
determine whether this event would have a significant
impact on people living in coastal areas.
Discuss the implications of your calculation.
How would cities such as Boston, New Orleans,
and San Diego be affected?
Help is needed. This is what I came up with so if you can assist in any way please do so. Thanks
I=ice
1yr=24 cubic miles
680,000 cubic miles =3,590,400,000 ft
1ft=1/3 mile
1 mile= 5,280 ft
I=24x
680,000= 24x
28,333.3= x
28,333.3 years for 680,000 cubic miles of ice to melt
I=24x
680,000= 24x
680,000/24= 24x/24
28333.3= x
the number of years for 680,000 cubic miles
Boston 14ft
14m=5,280
14m/14= 5280/14
m=377.14
New Orleans 4ft
4m= 5,280
m= 1320
San Diego 13ft
13m=5,280
13m/13= 5280/13
m= 406.15
Explanation / Answer
224,397,021 miles of the earth is covered with water source wikipedia, it was in kilometers, but i converted it for you 680000 cubic miles of water, lets go ahead and multiply that by 5280, see how many square miles of 1' deep water that would make... 3,590,400,000 now, lets see how many times that goes into the surface area covered w/water 3590400000/224397021 there would be a 16' rise in the water levels around the world