Great Lakes “likely to have the most ice since records began,” says meteorologist

IceAgeNow ^ | 19 Feb 2015 | Robert

[xzins]

Is Antarctica the only land mass with a substantial sea ice shelf (whatever they call it)?

[Candor7]

Here in New Brunswick, Canada we have a 5 foot snow pack in the fields with 8 foot drifts on tree lines.

And it is just like the 1960s.

We love it here. Snowmobiles all over the place.

In the day it goes up to 29 in the sun and down to about - 5 at night.

I have to use snowshoes to get to my outbuildings.

We are all hoping that it does not melt in 2 or 3 days, a slow melt would be good.

[Kozak]

But when you argue with a Green about melting ice and sea level you have to be specific. If the sea ice melts no big deal no sea level change. If the land based Greenland or Antarctic glaciers melt, that , WILL raise sea level.

[xzins]

I’ve wondered about that. What do the continents themselves sit on?

[Kozak]

They are the relatively lighter material of the crustal plates that sit on the mantle.

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crust_%28geology%29

[xzins]

Is there any sense of something resting on a molten core such that removing the pressure in one area affects it in another area?

I guess what I’m wondering is if you have a piece of wood floating in a basin of water, the water level is higher because of that wood. If you have a layer of ice on top of that wood, then the water level is even higher. If you melt the ice on the wood into the water, then what does the water level do?

[Kozak]

I believe if you increase the weight on the crust with say a large glacier like in the last ice age, when that is removed the crust snaps back and you get some elevation of land relative to the global base line. Some of that is still occurring in North America from the last ice age.

Don’t think the wood in the water analogy is correct for the earths crust on the mantle.

The water the wood displaces equals the weight of the wood plus the weight of the ice on it. Take the ice off and the wood displaces less water. Melt the ice in the water and the net change in volume of the water would be zero. I think.