What is the difference between polar ice caps and icebergs?

Answer 1

Melting ice caps is ice on land. When it melts it raises the sea levels. This is threatening coastal cities and croplands with permanent flooding.

Melting icebergs are already in the sea. Their melting does not raise sea levels one millimeter.

This is why there is more concern about melting ice caps.

The significant melting of ice is important whatever the source of ice because if nothing else this changes the salinity of ocean waters. This can have major effects on the flow of ocean currents and on the exchange of heat/energy between ocean waters and atmosphere. This would also have many effects on various delicate marine ecosystems all over the globe. Regarding what seems to be the point of the above question, the distinction to make is between the melting of ice that is resting on land and the melting of ice that is formed and remains on the water. Any ice that is formed on and is floating freely in water will not make sea levels rise when it melts, because the ice can displace no more ocean water than the weight of the water in the berg itself. But the melting of ice that is resting on land (or the movement of ice cover from land to sea) can and will make sea levels rise, because it is water that had not previously been part of the earth's ocean waters. So while the melting of all the ice at the north pole would have many devastating effects, this melting would not contribute to the rise in sea levels across the globe. However, the melting of ice in places like Greenland and Antarctica (where the ice is resting on land) will cause increases in sea levels.

Answer 2

In actuality scientists worry about both the melting of icebergs and the melting of ice sheets. However, the melting of icebergs (since they already sit in the ocean) will not greatly affect sea level, but the melting of ice sheets which sit on land will increase sea level. Scientists worry that not only will the melting of the ice sheets increase sea level, but environmental habitats will be altered and/or repositioned too rapidly for organisms to adjust.

Answer 3

The icebergs are melting because of heat trapped in our atmosphere by global warming is being pushed by global wind patterns to the poles.

AnswerFor the same reason they have always been melting. Icebergs, you see, are large chunks of ice that break off from glaciers or ice caps. Once they break off, they float away on the ocean currents. 90% of their surface area is in direct contact with water. Liquid water, which, by definition, is warmer than ice. Heat exchange between the water and the iceberg causes the surface of the iceberg to warm until it melts. There is nothing at all out of the ordinary about icebergs melting. They have always been melting, and will always be melting. The fact that icebergs are melting has nothing at all to do with global warming.

Warmer summer weather causes the melting. When winter comes, the glaciers will expand. Now, in SOME cases, the amount that melts in the summer is significantly more than the expansion in the winter.

Answer 4

Polar Ice Caps are stationary, frozen masses of ice. Icebergs are bits of the "edge" of the ice caps that break off and float away, sometimes into warmer oceans, causing havoc (the Titanic, for instance). Icebergs are especially treacherous, because seen from the surface, they can be as big as floating mountains, but 90% of them is still hidden beneath the surface.

Answer 5

You seem to be not quite understanding the problem - where do you think the icebergs come from? They are actually a part of the melting polar caps.

Answer 6

They cause water levels to rise, which results in flooding.

Answer 7

the ice caps are melting beacuse of global warming.