If all the Earth's ice melted
Maps of the planet's continents as they will probably appear as the planet warms and the sea rises are presented on the website of the National Geographic.
"The maps show the world as it is today, but with only one difference: all the ice has melted and the sea level has risen by 66.9 meters, creating new shorelines on all continents and inland seas."
"There are more than five million cubic miles of ice on Earth, and some scientists point out that it would take more than 5,000 years for it to melt. If we continue to add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, it is very likely to create a world without ice, with an average temperature of 26.6 degrees Celsius, instead of 14.4 degrees, which it is today", says the magazine.
National Geographic explains how the planet will appear after the ice has melted:
North America: The entire coastal zone of the Atlantic will disappear along with Florida and the Gulf Coast. In California, the hills of San Francisco will be a cluster of islands and the Central Valley a giant bay.
South America: The Amazon Basin to the north and the south of Paraguay will become inland coves of the Atlantic, flooding Buenos Aires, the coasts of Uruguay and most of Paraguay. Mountainous areas will survive along the Caribbean and Central America.
Africa: Compared to other continents, Africa will lose less land to the extreme rise in sea level, but the surge in the Earth's temperature may render it uninhabitable. In Egypt, Alexandria and Cairo will flood from the rising Mediterranean.
Europe: London will become a mere memory and Venice will be swallowed by the Adriatic. Thousands of years from now, in this catastrophic scenario, the Netherlands will be delivered to the sea and most of Denmark as well. Meanwhile, the Mediterranean's expanding waters will have swelled the Black and Caspian Seas.
Asia: Large areas of coastal China, Bangladesh and India will be inundated. The flooding of the Mekong Delta would leave Cambodia's Cardamon Mountains stranded as an island.
Australia: The island continent will acquire a new inland sea, and much of the narrow coastal strip, where 4 in 5 Australians presently live, will be lost.
Source: National Geographic [September 12, 2013]
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| Map of Europe after all the ice-sheets on the planet have melted [Credit: National Geographic] |
"There are more than five million cubic miles of ice on Earth, and some scientists point out that it would take more than 5,000 years for it to melt. If we continue to add carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, it is very likely to create a world without ice, with an average temperature of 26.6 degrees Celsius, instead of 14.4 degrees, which it is today", says the magazine.
National Geographic explains how the planet will appear after the ice has melted:
North America: The entire coastal zone of the Atlantic will disappear along with Florida and the Gulf Coast. In California, the hills of San Francisco will be a cluster of islands and the Central Valley a giant bay.
South America: The Amazon Basin to the north and the south of Paraguay will become inland coves of the Atlantic, flooding Buenos Aires, the coasts of Uruguay and most of Paraguay. Mountainous areas will survive along the Caribbean and Central America.
Africa: Compared to other continents, Africa will lose less land to the extreme rise in sea level, but the surge in the Earth's temperature may render it uninhabitable. In Egypt, Alexandria and Cairo will flood from the rising Mediterranean.
Europe: London will become a mere memory and Venice will be swallowed by the Adriatic. Thousands of years from now, in this catastrophic scenario, the Netherlands will be delivered to the sea and most of Denmark as well. Meanwhile, the Mediterranean's expanding waters will have swelled the Black and Caspian Seas.
Asia: Large areas of coastal China, Bangladesh and India will be inundated. The flooding of the Mekong Delta would leave Cambodia's Cardamon Mountains stranded as an island.
Australia: The island continent will acquire a new inland sea, and much of the narrow coastal strip, where 4 in 5 Australians presently live, will be lost.
Source: National Geographic [September 12, 2013]
