Ice caps and impacts

 9. Extended Questions

a. What happens if the polar ice caps melt?

               According to the United States Geological Survey (2022), if the ice caps were to melt, they would displace the ocean water and cause it to rise enough to cover coastal cities. This would occur due to the volume of water contained in the ice caps which is estimated to be enough to cause water to rise by approximately seventy meters. This would impact ecosystems at coastlines as it would move the coastline significantly inward causing disruptions in reproductive patterns of animals, disruptions to common food sources, and those displaced to the new coastline would be competing with different species that inhabit that area already. Fresh water and estuaries near the coastline would become salinized as well, causing disruption and possible endangerment to species found exclusively in these habitats. Areas below sea level would be submerged, causing coastal cities and towns to no longer be inhabited.

b. What other questions do you have about this Science Inquiry Experience?

               I wonder if adding that much freshwater would have an impact on the ocean's ecosystems due to the change in salinity. I wonder if reduced access to ultraviolet light would cause endangerment or extinction for the subaquatic systems currently located closest to the coast. Could this topic extend or connect in another way to a different content area or another science topic?

References

Business Insider (2015), How Earth would look if all the ice melted. Retrieved from                   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbiRNT_gWUQ&t=114s

United States Geological Survey (USGS), How would sea level change if all glaciers melted? 

Retrieved from https://www.usgs.gov/faqs/how-would-sea-level-change-if-all-glaciers-melted#:~:text=There%20is%20still%20some%20uncertainty,Science%20School%3A%20Glaciers%20and%20Icecaps