How would sea level change if all glaciers melted?
There is still some uncertainty about the full volume of glaciers and ice caps on Earth, but if all of them were to melt, global sea level would rise approximately 70 meters (approximately 230 feet), flooding every coastal city on the planet.
Learn more:
- USGS Water Science School: Glaciers and Icecaps
- National Snow and Ice Data Center: Facts about Glaciers
- U.S. Global Change Research Program: Sea Level Rise
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State of the Earth’s cryosphere at the beginning of the 21st century: Glaciers, global snow cover, floating ice, and permafrost and periglacial environments State of the Earth’s cryosphere at the beginning of the 21st century: Glaciers, global snow cover, floating ice, and permafrost and periglacial environments
This chapter is the tenth in a series of 11 book-length chapters, collectively referred to as “this volume,” in the series U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. In the other 10 chapters, each of which concerns a specific glacierized region of Earth, the authors used remotely sensed images, primarily from the Landsat 1, 2, and 3...
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Richard S. Williams, Thomas G. Huntington, Jane G. Ferrigno, Lonnie Thompson, M.B. Dyurgerov, Mark Meier, Bruce Raup, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Dorothy K. Hall, David A. Robinson, Claire L. Parkinson, D. Cavalieri, Martin O Jeffries, K. Morris, Claude R. Duguay, J. A. Heginbottom, Jerry Brown, Ole Humlum, Harald Svensson, Kevin M. Foley
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The coastline of the United States features some of the most popular tourist and recreational destinations in the world and is the site of intense residential, commercial, and industrial development. The coastal zone also has extensive and pristine natural areas, with diverse ecosystems providing essential habitat and resources that support wildlife, fish, and human use. Coastal erosion...
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E. Robert Thieler, Cheryl J. Hapke
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The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, conducted a 7-year, multidisciplinary study of coastal erosion in northeastern South Carolina. Shoreline behavior along the coast of Long Bay is dictated by waves, tidal currents, and sediment supply that act within the overall constraints of the regional geologic setting. Beaches are thin ribbons of...
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W. C. Schwab, P. T. Gayes, R.A. Morton, N. W. Driscoll, W. E. Baldwin, W. A. Barnhardt, J. F. Denny, M.S. Harris, M.P. Katuna, T.R. Putney, G. Voulgaris, J.C. Warner, E.E. Wright
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Fifty years of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research on glacier change shows recent dramatic shrinkage of glaciers in three climatic regions of the United States. These long periods of record provide clues to the climate shifts that may be driving glacier change. The USGS Benchmark Glacier Program began in 1957 as a result of research efforts during the International Geophysical Year...
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Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
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Glaciers are important features in the hydrologic cycle and affect the volume, variability, and water quality of runoff. Assessing and predicting the effect of glaciers on water resources require a monitoring program to provide basic data for this understanding. The monitoring program of the U.S. Geological Survey employs a nested approach whereby an intensively studied glacier is...
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Rising sea level is potentially one of the most serious impacts of climatic change. Even a small sea level rise would have serious economic consequences because it would cause extensive damage to the world's coastal regions. Sea level can rise in the future because the ocean surface can expand due to warming and because polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers can melt, increasing the...
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Related
Filter Total Items: 13
State of the Earth’s cryosphere at the beginning of the 21st century: Glaciers, global snow cover, floating ice, and permafrost and periglacial environments State of the Earth’s cryosphere at the beginning of the 21st century: Glaciers, global snow cover, floating ice, and permafrost and periglacial environments
This chapter is the tenth in a series of 11 book-length chapters, collectively referred to as “this volume,” in the series U.S. Geological Survey Professional Paper 1386, Satellite Image Atlas of Glaciers of the World. In the other 10 chapters, each of which concerns a specific glacierized region of Earth, the authors used remotely sensed images, primarily from the Landsat 1, 2, and 3...
Authors
Richard S. Williams, Thomas G. Huntington, Jane G. Ferrigno, Lonnie Thompson, M.B. Dyurgerov, Mark Meier, Bruce Raup, Jeffrey S. Kargel, Dorothy K. Hall, David A. Robinson, Claire L. Parkinson, D. Cavalieri, Martin O Jeffries, K. Morris, Claude R. Duguay, J. A. Heginbottom, Jerry Brown, Ole Humlum, Harald Svensson, Kevin M. Foley
USGS science for the Nation's changing coasts; shoreline change assessment USGS science for the Nation's changing coasts; shoreline change assessment
The coastline of the United States features some of the most popular tourist and recreational destinations in the world and is the site of intense residential, commercial, and industrial development. The coastal zone also has extensive and pristine natural areas, with diverse ecosystems providing essential habitat and resources that support wildlife, fish, and human use. Coastal erosion...
Authors
E. Robert Thieler, Cheryl J. Hapke
Coastal change along the shore of northeastern South Carolina— The South Carolina Coastal Erosion Study Coastal change along the shore of northeastern South Carolina— The South Carolina Coastal Erosion Study
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the South Carolina Sea Grant Consortium, conducted a 7-year, multidisciplinary study of coastal erosion in northeastern South Carolina. Shoreline behavior along the coast of Long Bay is dictated by waves, tidal currents, and sediment supply that act within the overall constraints of the regional geologic setting. Beaches are thin ribbons of...
Authors
W. C. Schwab, P. T. Gayes, R.A. Morton, N. W. Driscoll, W. E. Baldwin, W. A. Barnhardt, J. F. Denny, M.S. Harris, M.P. Katuna, T.R. Putney, G. Voulgaris, J.C. Warner, E.E. Wright
Fifty-year record of glacier change reveals shifting climate in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, USA Fifty-year record of glacier change reveals shifting climate in the Pacific Northwest and Alaska, USA
Fifty years of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) research on glacier change shows recent dramatic shrinkage of glaciers in three climatic regions of the United States. These long periods of record provide clues to the climate shifts that may be driving glacier change. The USGS Benchmark Glacier Program began in 1957 as a result of research efforts during the International Geophysical Year...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
A strategy for monitoring glaciers A strategy for monitoring glaciers
Glaciers are important features in the hydrologic cycle and affect the volume, variability, and water quality of runoff. Assessing and predicting the effect of glaciers on water resources require a monitoring program to provide basic data for this understanding. The monitoring program of the U.S. Geological Survey employs a nested approach whereby an intensively studied glacier is...
Authors
Andrew G. Fountain, Robert M. Krimmel, Dennis C. Trabant
Sea level change: lessons from the geologic record Sea level change: lessons from the geologic record
Rising sea level is potentially one of the most serious impacts of climatic change. Even a small sea level rise would have serious economic consequences because it would cause extensive damage to the world's coastal regions. Sea level can rise in the future because the ocean surface can expand due to warming and because polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers can melt, increasing the...
Authors
Water Resources Division U.S. Geological Survey
Updated Date: April 16, 2026