Climate change and rising sea levels are some of the greatest concerns of our time. This is a process that is likely to be ongoing for long after our lifetimes. It would take a very long time for all ice caps to melt (especially West Antarctica). But hypothetically, what would happen to Florida if all the ice caps were to melt overnight?
Florida is famously flat and low-lying. If one is looking for mountains there, the closest thing to a mountain near Florida is likely the Blue Ridge Mountains in far northern Georgia (so not close at all). If one would like a destination that combines mountains (volcanos) and tropical beaches, consider Hawaii instead.
The Two Ice Caps - Greenland and Antarctica
There are really two scenarios to consider with the melting of the polar ice caps. One is what would happen if all the ice sheets in Greenland melted and the other is what would happen if all the ice in Antarctica melted. Currently, it is the Greenland ice sheet that is melting fast and is perhaps the more troubling one, but if Antarctica melted, it would be truly apocalyptic.
Taken together, the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets contain more than 99% of the freshwater ice on Earth. Of these, the Antarctic one is the behemoth. Its ice sheets span for some 14 million Sq. Km or 5.4 million Sq. Miles - about the size of the Lower 48 States and Mexico combined. The Greenland Ice Sheet is around 3x the size of Texas.
Antarctic Island Sheet:
- Size: 14 million sq. Km or 5.4 million Sq. Miles
- Volume: 30 Million Cubic Kilometers (7.2 Million Cubic Miles) Of Ice
- East Antarctica: So Massive It Has 80% of All The Ice On Earth
- West Antarctica: Much Smaller but More Vulnerable
Greenland Ice Sheet:
- Size: 1.7 million sq. Km (656,000 Sq. miles)
- Volume: 2.8 Cubic Kilometers (0.68 Million Cubic Miles) Of Ice
- Covers: 80% of Greenland's Surface
- Thickness: Generally More Than 2 km or 1.2 miles Thick
Melting of The Greenland Ice Sheet
If all the ice in Greenland melted tomorrow, it would not be the end of Flordia. The lowest-lying areas and the Florida Keys would be history. But perhaps the coastal cities could be protected with Dutch-like dikes with the coastal cities very much underwater (although Miami may be unviable). Florida's marshes and coastlines would be devasted and much of the state would be flooded and there would be no more Everglades - but there would still be a Flordia.
"Greenland’s vast ice sheet is undergoing a surge in melting, with the amount of ice vanishing in a single day this week enough to cover the whole of Florida in two inches of water"
If all the ice in Greenland were to melt, the global sea levels would rise by around 6 meters or 20 feet (or 7.2 meters - 24 feet). All the world's ice is not going to melt in this century (mostly because of West Antarctica). But still, Greenland's ice sheet may soon be reaching the typing point after which accelerated melting will become inevitable.
- Greenland Sea Level Rise: 6-7.2 Meters or 20-24 Feet
- Mean Florida Elevation: 30 Meters or 100 Feet
The Everglades would be history. The Everglades only range from 0-8 feet (2.4 meters) above sea level. Even the Calusa-built shell mound on the Gulf Coast (20 feet -6.1 meters) would be inundated.
Troublingly, the Greenland Ice Sheet is melting at a rapid pace with the melting accelerating. In a single day, the ice sheet lost some 8.5 billion tons of ice and is losing ice at a rate of around one million tons a minute (in 2019).
- Greenland's Melting Season: From June To August
If All Ice Melted - The Antarctic Ice Sheets
If all the ice on earth melted, then the results would at catastrophic. Much of the UK would disappear, the Caspian Sea would be connected to the world's oceans, much of the Amazon Basin would be a shallow sea, there would be an inland sea in Australia, and Florida would be in the history books.
The entire Atlantic seaboard would be gone as well as the Gulf Coast. San Francisco's hills would be a cluster of islands while the Central Valley would once again be a giant bay or inland sea. The Gulf of California would stretch north past San Diego (or what was San Diego).
The highest point in Florida is Britton Hill which is only 345 feet above sea level. A complete melt of the world's ice caps would push sea levels up by 216 feet or 65 meters. That would mean all that would be left of Florida would be a smattering of hills (now isolated islands).
The mean elevation of Florida is only 100 feet or 30 meters - and the sea levels would rise by double that. The capital, Tallahassee, in the center of the country would also be under with an elevation of 203 ft (62 meters)