Quration Play

science

As the planet warms, two main forces push ocean levels higher: melting ice on land and the fact that water itself takes up more space when it heats up.

What is this heat-driven swelling of seawater called?

Thermal expansion
It is thermal expansion, responsible for a large share of observed sea level rise. Melting glaciers and the ice sheets of Greenland and Antarctica account for much of the rest of the increase.

Thermal expansion is the process at work: as ocean water absorbs heat from a warming planet, its molecules move more and take up more space, causing the sea to physically expand even without adding a single extra drop of water. This works alongside new water from melting glaciers and ice sheets, and together the two are the main drivers behind observed sea level rise.

Tidal locking describes a moon's rotation matching its orbit, an entirely separate astronomical phenomenon, and capillary action refers to liquid moving through narrow spaces via surface tension, neither of which explains rising oceans.

Because thermal expansion depends on heat the ocean has already absorbed, sea levels keep rising for a long time even if emissions stopped immediately, since the deep ocean takes a very long time to fully respond to past warming.

▶ Quration Play

science

Which gas does the Global Methane Pledge target?What are these underground water-bearing layers called?Why do some miners place their computers beside oil wells that flare waste gas?Graphene is made of a single layer of which element, arranged in a honeycomb pattern?Metamaterials are best known for enabling devices that could do what to an object?This produces a carbon nanotube, which is famous for being extraordinarily what?What did later replication efforts around the world conclude about LK-99?What is this ultralight material called?Plastics derived from such plant-based or biological sources are generally called what?This rising class of 2D nanomaterials is known by what name?What is this method of farming called?What kind of imaging lets these drones detect plant health early?

Quration — Quration Play