Ursula Tillman, age 12, of Williamsport.,

What would happen, if the polar ice all melted

This is a good time of year to think about large quantites of ice. There are millions of tons of ice in the world. The ice sheet of Antarctica cover:; some six million square miles. Its average thickness is estimated to be around 2,000 feet: A massive glacier covers Greenlandis central mountains: There are ice fields over the land around the Arctic Sea. Countless high mountains right up to the equator bear tons of glacial ice.

All this ice is stolen from the sea. The sun evaporates water to form the clouds. It falls again as rain and snow. Over the earth, the rainwater gathers in rivers, The rivers return the water to the sea. Glaciers upset this smooth cycle of give and take: They hold onto their snowfall for years and years, storing it in stubborn masses of hard ices.

If all that ice melted, it would run down as water to join the sea, The sea would slop over its shorelines: Some of our favorite beaches would be gone for goodi It is estimated that the world's glaciers could raise the level of the sea one hundred feet, if they melted.

This would mean goodbye to much of our eastern seaboard. The waves of the Atlantic would break among the foothills of the Adirondacks. The Pacific would some flooding through the Golden Gate. Much of California's rich valley land would be submerged.

The Gulf of Mexico would slop all over the coastal area of the Mississippi. Mobile and New Orleans would be cities below the sea. Holland and the Netherlands of Europe would be swamped. Coral islands all over the would world return below water level.

All this would be very tragic. However, it could not possibly happen over night. In times past, the old earth has had twice the present amount of glacial ice. She let those glaciers melt gently, as she does most things, The level of the sea rose slowly, inch by inch. Sensible people and animals had plenty of time to move to higher ground.

Some experts say we are living in a warm spell similar to those between the past Ice Ages. The world climate may get warmer and then cool off again. There is evidence that the north polar region is gradually becoming warmer. No accurate records have been kept of the south polar climate.

In this century, there has been legs ice afloat in the north polar seas. The climate of Greenland has become warmer. Birds and fishes have learned this news. Baltimore orioles now summer in Greenland, Skylarks and thrushes have paid first visits to Iceland. Cod fish brave the warmer watery off Greenland,

The warmer cycle at the top of the world may not last. While it doe s  glacial waters are being added to the sea. Yet there has been no noticable rise in sea level. only one individual , so far, is disgruntled. The grey plover loved the cold climate of Greenland. He has had to roam further north where weather is more to his taste.  Read more on Global Warming,  a problem we are facing today!