Antarctica.
The Underside of our Fair Planet.
Did you know that down there, right at the southern tippity point - is over 26.5 million
cubic kilometres of ice, jammed up and packed together in an absolutely colossal ice sheet
that comprises the frozen continent.
Now - in a completely hypothetical apocalyptic scenario - imagine that all of that ice, was
suddenly melted by - oh, I don’t know - a rapid change in the temperature of the Earth’s
atmosphere - and without warning - melted.
Yes.
Melted ice equals waters - but that’s a hell of a lot of ice, and an even larger whole
lot of H20.
So where would it all go?
And what devastating effects would it have on our planet's ecosystem?
Well, let’s find out.
Hello internet - and once again, welcome back to the most inquisitive channel on YouTube
- Life’s Biggest Questions.
As per usual, I’ll be your disembodied floating voice Jack Finch - as today, we curiously
ask the question - What If All The Ice Melted In Antarctica?
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that film was from the only end-of-days global disaster
movie that you’ll ever need - The Day After Tomorrow - because, come on, what did you
expect?
2012?
No thanks buddy.
But it also actually posits a pretty robust scenario when it comes to the polar ice cap
melting - mainly apocalyptic level weather currents and continental sized storms.
But, is that the only thing that would happen if all the ice melted in Antarctica?
Well, no - of course not.
There’s much more to it than that.
Let’s find out.
First we have to take a look at what Antarctica *actually* looks like.
I mean, it’s not just some huge hunk of ice bobbing listlessly in the ocean, is it?
No, in fact - deep down beneath the frozen core, Antarctica would be a pretty awesome
place, actually.
More than 170 million years ago, Antarctica was part of the supercontinent known as Gondwana
- which comprised what we know today as South America, Africa, Australia, the Indian Subcontinent
- and of course, Antarctica.
But back then - the area that makes up Antarctica wasn’t always a cold, dry, frozen desert
made up of impenetrable ice sheets - in fact, it was a widely temperate climate covered
in bustling and vibrant tropical forests.
It even had a few dinosaurs!
It is thought, through cutting edge topographical radar and satellite imagery - that Antarctica
would widely resemble the Andes Mountain Range of South America, but as chance would have
it - shortly after the Gondwana breakup that occured around 140 million years ago, Antarctica
became partially isolated during its seismic breakup - and that’s when things got a little
bit chilly, so to speak.
And around 23 million years ago - the infamous Drake Passage opened up between Antarctica
and South America - resulting in what is now known as the Antarctic Circumpolar Current
- completely isolating the continent, plummeting its CO2 levels and turning it’s lush forest
landscape into the eternal popsicle that we all know and love today.
Also, Penguin Land.
Because yeah, we can’t mention Antarctica without mentioning penguins, right?
But imagine - that all of that ice, all 26.5 million cubic kilometres of it - melted.
Well, it would in fact melt into roughly 24.3 million cubic kilometres of water - which
when added to the current volume of our oceans - would result in a predicted sea level rise
of above 60 metres.
Guys.
That’s huge.
And that’s also really, really bad.
As in - a vast number of countries across our planet will just be completely, and utterly
submerged - millions upon millions of people forever lost to the rising ocean.
Homes obliterated, coastlines rapidly ravaged without warning.
It wouldn’t be gradual, either.
It’s thought that regardless of this particular rapid surge in sea levels, our oceans are
already rising anyway - at a rate of about one-eighth of an inch per year, which only
seems to be rapidly increasing.
In that scenario though - which is very much real, may I add - we’d have the chance to
perhaps utilise technology to diminish the crisis effects of an encroaching sea level
- but in this scenario?
Yeah, we’re talking poof - Antarctic ice = water = The Day After Tomorrow levels of
horror.
Remember that one scene in downtown New York?
Yeah, it’d be exactly that.
Bangladesh would be pretty much gone, along with Singapore, Brunei - the Maldives, yeah,
those little guys - completely under water.
Bermuda, the vast majority of Denmark and the Netherlands would be completely submerged
in the new rising surge of oceanic water - forever changing the face of our planet as we know
it.
The coast of Florida, for the most part - would be completely gone - as well as the vast majority
of New York, and pretty much all of the United Kingdom’s coastline.
Now apply that to pretty much everywhere that meets the ocean.
It’s good news if you live in nearly any landlocked country though.
Mongolia, Switzerland, Kazakhstan - you’re all good.
In fact, if you’re there - it’d be business as usual.
But, well - actually - that’s also not accounting for the huge swathe of global panic and population
hysteria that would swiftly spread across the planet.
Run for the hills.
With all of these millions of people fleeing the encroaching tide and shorelines - where
do they go?
The world is already facing a continued global refugee crisis - but with Antarctica melting,
it would apply to pretty much each and every person on the planet.
Economies would be obliterated as a mass displacement of the human population occurred.
Water sources would be either lost to the tide or contaminated with saltwater.
Just look at what happened with the destroyed nuclear energy infrastructure of Fukushima
in Japan in 2011 - now imagine that on a global scale.
That’s not even accounting for the health crisis that would follow - with, according
to the World Health Organization - the sanitation-related spread of illness and disease - as well as
the elevated temperatures and open bodies of water spreading to mosquito-borne illnesses.
And also - we have the human strain - the rise of tensions as communities and mass populations
are displaced across the planet - seeking refuge in above-sea-level areas, which would
very rapidly inflame regional tensions and trigger conflicts on both a local and global
scale.
Yeah.
Things don’t look very good, do they?
As a matter of fact - if all the Ice Melted In Antarctica - it would be perhaps the most
devastating event that our civilization has ever faced - BUT, the brand new, unexplored
Antarctic terrain left behind from beneath the ice sheets would look kinda nice, I guess?
There’d probably be some pretty dope fossils down there too.
Hey - guys, I’m just trying to stay positive, okay?
Well - there we have it folks - our answer to What If All The Ice Melted In Antarctica?
If you couldn’t tell - it’d be a very, very bad thing.
What did you think?
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As per usual, I’ve been your disembodied floating voice Jack Finch - you’ve been
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