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Despite a lot of science and even more debate, scientists don't have a clear idea about whether the ice in Antarctica as a whole is growing or shrinking. They do worry, however, that the West Antarctic Ice Sheet might shrink enough to raise global sea levels appreciably in the coming centuries. The worst-case scenario is a complete collapse of the sheet, which would jack sea levels up by as much as 20 feet.
Below, see what would happen to selected coastlines around the world if such a disintegration occurred. See also how these coasts looked 20,000 years ago at the height of the Ice Age, when seas were 400 feet lower than today, as well as how they would appear if the much larger East Antarctic Ice Sheet were to disintegrate. No one believes this tremendous dome will disintegrate anytime soon. But if it did, it would raise seas around the world by as much as 200 feet. (To play it safe, these images depict a conservative rise of 17 feet if the West sheet collapsed and 170 feet if the East sheet did. Note that black lines represent current coastlines).—Peter Tyson
Click on the images below to see larger versions.
U.S. East Coast
Florida
Northern Europe
Southeast Asia
Note: This feature originally appeared in a slightly different form on the Warnings From the Ice Web site.
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