Title: Climate change, melting ice and sea level rise — Science Learning Hub
Headings: Climate change, melting ice and sea level rise
Climate change, melting ice and sea level rise
Land ice – glaciers, ice shelves and ice sheets
Sea ice
Melting ice and sea level rise
Thermal expansion and sea level rise
Climate change – additional implications
Nature of science
Activity ideas
Collection of related content
Useful links

Content: Melting land ice is different. It adds water to the sea. This is similar to adding more water to the jug of ice and water. The volume of water in the jug increases – and will overflow if too much is added. Although melting sea ice does not cause sea level rise, it does have other implications for the global climate. Sea ice has a light-coloured surface and reflects some of the sunlight that hits it. When sea ice melts, it exposes the darker sea surface, which absorbs solar energy ( heat ). This causes further temperature rises and causes more ice to melt. Thermal expansion and sea level rise
Warming seawater also causes sea level rise. Water expands when it warms up – heat energy makes its molecules move around more and take up more space.