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antarctica

A map of the United States post land-ice melt.

Land ice: We got a lot of it. Considering the two largest ice sheets on earth — the one on Antarctica and the one on Greenland — extend more than 6 million square miles combined ... yeah, we're talkin' a lot of ice. But what if it was all just ... gone? Not like gone gone, but melted?

If all of earth's land ice melted, it would be nothing short of disastrous. And that's putting it lightly. This video by Business Insider Science (seen below) depicts exactly what our coastlines would look like if all the land ice melted. And spoiler alert: It isn't great. Lots of European cities like, Brussels and Venice, would be basically underwater.

I bring up the topic not just for funsies, of course, but because the maps are real possibilities.

How? Climate change.

As we continue to burn fossil fuels for energy and emit carbon into our atmosphere, the planet gets warmer and warmer. And that, ladies and gentlemen, means melted ice.

A study published this past September by researchers in the U.S., U.K., and Germany found that if we don't change our ways, there's definitely enough fossil fuel resources available for us to completely melt the Antarctic ice sheet.

Basically, the self-inflicted disaster you see above is certainly within the realm of possibility.


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In Africa and the Middle East? Dakar, Accra, Jeddah — gone.



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Millions of people in Asia, in cities like Mumbai, Beijing, and Tokyo, would be uprooted and have to move inland.



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South America would say goodbye to cities like Rio de Janeiro and Buenos Aires.


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And in the U.S., we'd watch places like Houston, San Francisco, and New York City — not to mention the entire state of Florida — slowly disappear into the sea.


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All GIFs via Business Insider Science/YouTube.

Business Insider based these visuals off National Geographic's estimation that sea levels will rise 216 feet (!) if all of earth's land ice melted into our oceans.

There's even a tool where you can take a detailed look at how your community could be affected by rising seas, for better or worse.

Although ... looking at these maps, it's hard to imagine "for better" is a likely outcome for many of us.

Much of America's most populated regions would be severely affected by rising sea levels, as you'll notice exploring the map, created by Alex Tingle using data provided by NASA.

Take, for instance, the West Coast. (Goodbye, San Fran!)



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Or the East Coast. (See ya, Philly!)


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And the Gulf Coast. (RIP, Bourbon Street!)

"This would not happen overnight, but the mind-boggling point is that our actions today are changing the face of planet Earth as we know it and will continue to do so for tens of thousands of years to come," said lead author of the study Ricarda Winkelmann, of the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research.

If we want to stop this from happening," she says, "we need to keep coal, gas, and oil in the ground."

The good news? Most of our coastlines are still intact! And they can stay that way, too — if we act now.

World leaders are finallystarting to treat climate change like the global crisis that it is — and you can help get the point across to them, too.

Check out Business Insider's video below:


- YouTubewww.youtube.com


This article originally appeared eleven years ago.

All hail Boaty McBoatface, lord of the seas!

Boaty McBoatface is pulled out of the water. Photo by National Environment Research Council.

The internet-famous submarine just completed its maiden voyage, coming back with reams of "unprecedented data" about the Southern Ocean around Antarctica, according to the researchers who sailed with it.


"Boaty is already delivering new insight into some of the coldest ocean waters on Earth, giving scientists a greater understanding of changes in the Antarctic region and shaping a global effort to tackle climate change," U.K. science minister Jo Johnson said in a statement.

In 2016, the U.K.'s Natural Environmental Research Council held an online contest to name a new polar research vessel.

Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.

While the council put forth several suggestions, "Boaty McBoatface," suggested by former BBC radio host James Hand, was the runaway winner.

The council ultimately rejected the results, christening the vessel the RRS Sir David Attenborough instead.

Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.

As a consolation prize, they elected to bestow the name on a small yellow submersible carried on board.

Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images.

That small yellow submersible just finished beasting around some of the deepest, coldest waters around Antarctica.  

Its mission involved mapping the region's ocean currents as well as studying their speed, temperature, and salinity.

Some scientists worry that rising temperatures and increased freshwater could be altering the global circulation of ocean water, resulting in even more rapid and drastic climate change.

The information gathered by Boaty on the flows in the Orkney Passage off the southern continent hasn't been analyzed yet, but it is the first of its kind, according to the researchers on the project.

If it takes a tiny underwater robot with a ridiculous name to make the people of Earth get serious about the threat to the planet's ocean currents, then so be it.

The scientists hope to learn more about the currents in the coming years, with Boaty giving them the opportunity to study the system far beyond their previous capabilities.

Photo by Mario Tama/Getty Images.

"Up until now we have only been able to take measurements from a fixed point, but now, we are able to obtain a much more detailed picture of what is happening in this very important underwater landscape," University of Southampton professor Alberto Naveira Garabato, the study's leader, said in a statement. "The challenge for us now is to analyse it all."

Future Boaty missions to the area are already in the works, which is hopeful news for the planet.

Sail on, Boaty McBoatface, you noble vessel!

May you always receive Poseidon's favor!

Oh, great!

Photo via NASA Earth Observatory

Just another Manhattan-sized chunk of Antarctica breaking off and scooting fancy free into the ocean.

Photo via NASA Earth Observatory.


The Pine Island glacier, where the break took place, also experienced large ice losses in 2014 and 2015. This cleavage is smaller, but still alarming to scientists, who fear the trend is accelerating.

"Such ‘rapid fire’ calving does appear to be unusual for this glacier," Ohio State University glaciologist Ian Howat said in a NASA press release.

This is really not a great time for solid ice on Earth.

The Antarctic iceberg's decision to peace out from the Pine Island glacier comes amid reports of frequent "heat waves" at the poles and record low amounts of sea ice.

Just three years ago, this — the largest-ever glacial cleaving caught on film — happened in Greenland:

GIF from "Chasing Ice"/Submarine Deluxe.

It's a good thing the new U.S. administration's incoming EPA chief is a responsible steward of the Earth, at one with nature, devoted to...

Photo by Aaron P. Bernstein/Getty Images.

... oh. Right. He's 100% not.

As Oklahoma attorney general, Scott Pruitt devoted much of his energy to suing the EPA — the very department he's been put forward to lead. Prior to his nomination, he bragged about being "a leading advocate against the EPA’s activist agenda."

He's also not so sure about this whole climate change thing being legit, which, you know...

GIF from "Chasing Ice"/Submarine Deluxe.

...is troubling. To say the least.

The Senate is scheduled to vote on Pruitt's nomination soon.

And there are some signs he might be in trouble.

Maine's Susan Collins is a "no" and John McCain is out of the house. That means just one more senator needs to flip if Pruitt is going to be rejected. A few have shown willingness to buck Trump on other priorities: Alaska's Lisa Murkowski, who voted against Betsy DeVos, Kentucky's Rand Paul, who has opposed several of the administration's proposed state department hires, and South Carolina's Lindsay Graham, who's been critical of Trump on national security issues.

If you live in one of those states, do give your senators a call. Now.

Save our ice!

The glacier, in happier, non-cleaved times. Photo via NASA Earth Observatory.

(And, you know, our coastal cities and civilization, while we're at it).

Update — 2/17/17, 1:21p.m. ET: Welp. Pruitt went through. Good try, everyone. You should still call your senators, though, and tell them to stand up to any attempt to roll back climate rules and legislation. Earth's glaciers are counting on you!

Lewis Pugh is the patron of the oceans, and he's super pumped.

First of all, can I comment on how cool that job title is? He got it from the United Nations. It sounds like it should be from Greek mythology.

He's pumped because we just turned Antarctica's Ross Sea into the world's largest marine sanctuary.

24 countries plus the European Union came together on Friday to declare a new marine reserve twice the size of Texas off the coast of Antarctica.


This designation, which will come into effect in December, will turn 70% of the area into a no-fishing zone.

16,000 species of life are estimated to live in or visit the Ross Sea, turning it into a polar Garden of Eden.

That's what the United Nations Environment Programme called it, anyway. And Pugh is pretty happy about that.

"The Ross Sea is one of the most magnificent places on Earth," he said. "It is one of our last great wilderness areas. This is a dream come true."

This new designation will protect a huge range of creatures. Creatures like:

1. Entire colonies of emperor penguins.

Photo via iStock.

2. Humpback whales!

Photo via iStock.

3. This lovely pelagic snow petrel.

Photo via iStock.

4. And their less-snowy but still pretty cousin, the Antarctic petrel.

Photo via iStock.

5. This kind of adorable krill! Run, krill! Don't you know there are whales around here?!

Photo via iStock.

6. We're not done with the penguins, by the way. These chinstrap penguins are now protected!

Photo by Eitan Abramovich/AFP/Getty Images.

They're more common elsewhere, but there's at least one breeding colony in the Ross Sea.

7. From birds that never fly to birds that almost never land – the albatross!

Photo via iStock.

8. Oh wait, you thought we were done with whales? Nope! Here's a sperm whale.

Photo via iStock.

9. And an orca whale! Whales! Whales for everybody!

Photo via iStock.

10. I know, little crabeater seal, it's a whale extravaganza.

Photo via iStock.

11. How 'bout some birds? Like these skuas, which are like seagulls crossed with bikers.

Photo via iStock.

12. Or this leopard seal, which is like a regular seal crossed with, well, a leopard.

Photo via iStock.

Listen, sometimes animal names are pretty apt, OK?

13. Or how about this bizarre icefish, which is like a cod crossed with a bucket of antifreeze.

Icefish have natural antifreeze chemicals in their blood.

This is a big step in protecting our natural places.

Watching the news, it's easy to get depressed when we hear that we've crossed climate change benchmarksor that a significant portion of wildlife is in danger of disappearing. And these are things we should be concerned about.

But there are still a lot of things that we as a planet can do too. And I know of at least 13 species that might be breathing a little easier today.