Sea level is rising, in part, because melting glaciers on land are adding more water to Earth’s oceans.
Sea Ice floats in the ocean, like icebergs and frozen sea water.
As it floats, the ice displaces its own weight it water. As a result, its melting causes little to no impact on sea level!
Land Ice, or glaciers, sit frozen on top of mountains and ice sheets above the ocean.
When a glacier melts, water runs down the mountain or ice sheet into the sea, causing the sea level rise because more water is added!
Explore the following video to understand how ice melting influences sea level rise.
An iceberg is like ice cubes that float in your glass of water. When your ice cube melts, water doesn’t spill out of the glass.
A glacier is like pouring more water into your glass. If you add lots of extra water, there isn’t enough room for the water to go.