When looking from space, the Earth looks very blue, because almost all the surface is covered in water. Of all this abundant water, only 3% is stored in the form of ice, either at the North Pole, the South Pole, or… in our respective refrigerators. Even so, what happens if all of Earth’s ice melts? Especially with global warming now getting worse.
According to research, there are several possible scenarios. Unfortunately, none of these scenarios have a happy ending like the scenarios of American soap operas.
The Scenarios
The first scenario is sea level rise. The sea level will not rise if the melting is just ice at the North Pole. The secret is that the ice floats in the ocean, just like the ice cubes in a fresh cup of iced tea.
Even if the ice melts, the tea water will not come out from the glass, because the volume of the ice is only replaced by the melting water.
Well, another story is that the ice on the land is melting. The ice in Greenland and Alaska, for example, will account for seven meters of sea level rise if it melts. It’s even more wretched if the ice at the South Pole is melting because 90% of the world’s total ice is there.
If the whole melts, the sea level will rise at least 61 meters. In short, the total sea level resulting will be more than twice the height of the worst wave during the Aceh Tsunami.
Next, the second scenario is climate change. With the melting of all the ice on Earth, there will be a change in salt levels in the oceans. Seawater reduces its salinity because it mixes with the freshwater from the ice melt. The thing is, the salinity of the sea has a huge effect on ocean currents.
If the ocean currents are chaotic, many other things follow, such as the global climate and fish migration. Perhaps, our obscure lives are becoming more and more obscure.
What’s even worse is the third scenario, which is the worsening of global warming. The first reason, the melting of ice around the world just obliterates the Earth’s mirror. Ideally, some of the sun’s rays are reflected by super-clear ice, and some are absorbed by more turbid seawater.
Just imagine, if we absorb all the heat of the sun, how hot will our Earth be? The second reason, the melting of all ice including Permafrost will accelerate the decomposition of organic matter that has been freezing. This process will release more carbon and greenhouse gases that will automatically make the earth hotter again.
Conclusion
Yes indeed, at the moment all of those scenarios are still purely scientific predictions. Even so, our Earth never had any ice. It’s not possible, this will happen again in the future. Well, how soon will that time come? What happens if all of Earth’s ice melts? Our behavior will be the decisive factor.
