Fluid Dynamics Q We often hear people say that the seawater

Fluid Dynamics Q

We often hear people say that the seawater level will rise as a result of the melting of floating icebergs. Ignoring the difference in density between seawater and freshwater, determine whether or not this statement is true

Solution

TRUE

The sea water level will rise due to melting of icebergs floating.

A huge amount of energy is required to melt the ice. This energy comes from the ocean. The reflectivity of ice is very high hence it doesn’t absorb much solar energy. Therefore the ocean will cool a bit, this leads to the increase in the density of the briny water (fresh water exhibits a peculiar behaviour that its density increases as the temperature decreses almost all the way to freezing but just before freezing i.e., at 4C the density is reduced. Briny water does not exhibit this property of reversal). This Cooling effect offsets the density and it will decrease hence the volume increases by increasing the rise in sea water level slightly.

This can be better explained by Archemedes principle which states that \"an object immersed in a fluid is equal to buoyed up by a force equal to the weight of the fluid it displaces\".

Althogh the major part deals with the differece in Fresh water and Salt Water. Fresh water, from which icebergs are made, is less dense compared to the salty sea water. The melted fresh water will take up a slightly larger volume than the displaced salt water as the amount of sea water displaced by the iceberg is equal to its weight. This results in a small rise in the sea water level.