I often hear people claim "global warming will cause the ice-
caps to melt, and that will cause the water levels in the ocean
to rise, and that will cause major world-wide flooding." Now,
ignoring the question "are ice cap melting", I am still
wondering how it is possible for melting ice-caps to cause water
levels to rise. Here is why I am skeptical: According to the law
of displacement, the volume of an immersed object will be
exactly equal to the volume of the displaced fluid. Therefor, if
an icecap is floating in water, the displacement of the water
would be based on the volume of the icecap, not it's shape, and
the levels should be the same regardless of whether or not it is
melted. In fluid mechanics, displacement occurs when an object
is immersed in a fluid, pushing it out of the way and taking its
place. The volume of the fluid displaced can then be measured,
as in the illustration, and from this the volume of the immersed
object can be deduced (the volume of the immersed object will be
exactly equal to