The Earth contains around five million cubic miles of ice and 80 per cent of this is in East Antarctica ice sheet alone
Scientists believe it would take more than 5,000 years for all the Earth’s ice to melt
Earth hasn't been ice-free since the Eocene epoch - a period of increased temperatures 34 million years ago
If this was repeated, sea levels could rise by 216 feet changing shorelines and engulfing entire cities worldwide
National Geographic has created a series of maps showing what continents would look like if the Earth’s ice melted
6 November 2013
Ice sheets surrounding the North and South poles make up 10 per cent of our entire planet’s surface, and it’s thought Earth contains five million cubic miles of frozen water - so what would happen if it all melted? National Geographic has created a series of interactive maps demonstrating the catastrophic effect Earth’s ice could cause if it melted and flowed into the oceans and seas. This could cause sea levels to rise by 216 feet, devouring cities and even countries all the while drastically altering how continents and coastlines look, and wiping out entire populations.
If these ice sheets melted, the rest of the world would be affected. In Europe, pictured, cities including London and Venice would be lost underwater, as would the whole of the Netherlands and most of Denmark. It would also cause the Mediterranean to expand and swell the Black and Caspian Seas
How Britain would look if the ice sheets melted. A large proportion of the country would be left underwater
Scientists believe it could take around 5,000 years for temperatures to rise significantly enough to melt all the ice on the planet, but claim the planet is already seeing the beginnings of this. Over the past century, reports suggest the Earth's temperature has increased by around half a degree Celsius and, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), this has already caused sea levels to rise by around seven inches. The largest concentrations of ice on Earth are found in Greenland and Antarctica but it is also found on exposed areas, on mountain tops and in other regions. The East Antarctica ice sheet, for example, is so large it contains around 80 per cent of all the ice on the planet and its size has protected it previously during warmer periods in Earth’s history. This includes during the Eocene epoch - a period of increased global temperatures that lasted from 56 to 34 million years ago. During this period of time, little to no ice was present on Earth and there was little difference in temperature at the equator compared to the poles. Warming oceans are already melting the floating ice sheet in west Antarctica and since 1992, National Geographic reports the sheet has lost around 65 million metric tonnes of ice each year. The ice sheets in Greenland and west Antarctica shrank significantly during the epoch and if temperatures were to rise in a similar manner again, the ice sheets across the regions could disappear into the sea completely.
If these sheets melted, it would create a knock-on effect for the rest of the world. In Europe, for example, cities including London and Venice would be lost underwater, as would the whole of the Netherlands and most of Denmark. It would also cause the Mediterranean to expand and swell the Black and Caspian Seas.
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The largest concentrations of ice on Earth are found in Greenland and Antarctica, pictured. Warming oceans are already melting the floating ice sheet in west Antarctica and since 1992, National Geographic reports the sheet loses around 65 million metric tonnes each year. If they melted it could cause the sea levels to rise globally by 216 feet
This rise in greenhouse gases could be caused by humans, as National Geographic explained: ‘If we burn all the Earth’s supply of coal, oil, and gas, adding some five trillion more tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere, we’ll create a very hot planet with an average temperature of perhaps 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the current 58. Large swaths of it might become too hot for humans.’ This would make the Earth ice-free for the first time in 34 million years. If this happened, the entire Atlantic seaboard in the U.S would vanish, wiping out Florida and the Gulf Coast. While the hills in San Francisco would become islands and San Diego would be lost forever. In the east, China and Bangladesh would both be completely flooded, wiping out around 760 million people based on current population levels.The coastlines of India would also be reduced. Whereas in South America, the Amazon Basin and the Paraguay River Basin would both become Atlantic inlets and this would wipe out Buenos Aires, coastal Uruguay, and some of Paraguay. The only areas that would survive are mountainous stretches along the Caribbean coast and in Central America. The other continents would escape a little more lightly, but would still be affected.
In the east, parts of Asia, including China and Bangladesh would be completely flooded, wiping out around 760 million people based on current population levels. Parts of India's coastline would also be lost and eroded inland. National Geographic said: 'If we burn all the Earth's supply of coal, oil, and gas, adding some five trillion more tonnes of carbon to the atmosphere, we'll create a very hot planet with an average temperature of perhaps 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the current 58' In Africa, for example, Egypt, Alexandria and Cairo would be flooded but the continent wouldn’t lose as much of its land to the rising seas. National Geographic claims the Earth’s rising heat ‘might make much of it inhabitable’ though.
Australia would gain a new inland sea but it ‘would lose much of the narrow coastal strip where four out of five Australians now live.’
SOURCES: Philippe Huybrechts, Vrije Universiteit Brussel; Richard S Williams, JR., Woods Hole Research center; James C. Zachos, University of Claifornia, Santa Cruz; USGS; NOAA, ETOPO1 Bedrock, 1 Arc-Minute Global Relief Model © SEPTEMBER 2013 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SOCIETY
WHAT WAS THE EOCENE EPOCH?
The Eocene epoch was a period of increased global temperatures that lasted from 56 to 34 million years ago.
During this period of time, little to no ice was found on Earth and there was little difference in temperature at the equator compared to the poles.
The planet slowly cooled as carbon dioxide from the air locked inside seafloor sediments.
During this decrease ice began to reappear at the poles, and the Antarctic ice sheet began to expand rapidly.
國際中心／綜合報導
如果全球5百萬立方英哩的冰層融解，海平面上升66公尺，全球海岸線「大移位」將造成未來全球多個沿海城市即將被海水淹沒形成「海底都市」，甚至歐洲幾個國家將面臨亡國的危機。
根據英國《每日郵報》（Daily Mail）報導，近日，美國《國家地理雜誌》(National Geographic)揭示了一個「可怕」的世界版圖，由美國地質調查局、布魯塞爾自由大學（Vrije Universiteit Brussel）、加州大學、美國非政府組織「林洞研究中心」（Woods Hole Research Center）等研究製成，推算500萬立方哩冰層全部融化時，地球表面平均溫度上升12度、海平面上升66公尺，人類將面臨全球海岸線「大移位」地危機。
儘管科學家表示，距離地球上所有冰雪消融還需5千年的時間，但假如人類繼續放縱碳排放量的增加，這可能導致地球時隔3千萬年會再次出現一個沒有冰雪的世界！
報導指出，這個全新的世界地圖面貌揭示，全球多個沿海城市即將被海水淹沒形成「海底都市」，其中亞洲地區台灣北部、西南部，平地幾乎都被淹沒只剩下高山。
而擁有6億人口的大陸華北、華東、華南沿海一帶大城上海、天津、北京、濟南、青島、香港、澳門未來將消失在世界圖上。接著，東北亞地區包含北韓、南韓與日本則會失去約4分之1的土地，其中日本首都東京會變成海底都市，北海道與札幌會形成兩座島嶼。
再來是，東南亞地區菲律賓的首都馬尼拉也無倖免遭海水淹沒，且菲律賓會失去一半的國土。新加坡則會變成小島，而將面臨亡國危機地則是馬爾地夫與有著1.6億人口的孟加拉，幸運的內陸國家不丹和尼泊爾則沒有損失土地，但便成了臨海國家。
歐美方面，美國東岸和西岸成為「重災區」！報導指出，佛羅里達州以及第四大城休士頓、波士頓、紐奧良將被淹沒，而圍繞舊金山的高山將變成小島，連英國倫敦也會消逝。
歐洲方面還有愛爾蘭僅剩數個島嶼，丹麥首都哥本哈根也會成為海底都市，丹麥最後只剩下一座小島，以及荷蘭跟比利時則會「亡國」，至於義大利的威尼斯與羅馬也將從世界地圖上消失。
科學家表示，海平面上升66公尺，許多港灣變得更深更廣，其中科威特將被淹沒，波斯灣將深入伊拉克，至於地中海與黑海、裏海會相連。
此外，巴西將會有大量海水灌入，使得亞馬遜森林成為沿海的紅樹林。至於非洲埃及首都開羅也會遭到淹沒以及澳洲大陸則會大「縮水」，內陸出現一個大湖泊，有5分之4的沿岸地區將被淹沒。
科學家表示，南極洲自1992年平均每年減少6千5百萬立方公噸的海冰，若情況持續，專家相信到2100年，海平面會升近1公尺，雖然估計至少要5千年全球冰層才會融化，但如果人類繼續放任碳排放量的問題，恐怕會使地球變為「熱球」加快冰層融化！
