What if the Polar Ice Caps Melt

Everyone knows that sea levels will rise and coastal areas will be flooded, the exact amount is always debated.

But one phenomenon that I think is more destructive will be a disruption in the Great Ocean Conveyer Belt. This is the current that travels around the world's oceans circulating all the water. If the ice caps were to melt then this would cause the fresh water to remain above the salt water near the north pole. In order for the process of the belt to continue it needs to sink at the poles to allow the cycle to continue. The less dense fresher water would not sink and potentially stop this conveyance.

The result would be that the warm waters from the Gulf of Mexico would not bring those warm nutrient rich waters to Europe causing drastic temperature drops. This effects plankton, the basis of many food webs and deep water bacteria that regulate hydrogen-sulfide emissions. This toxic gas then would poison life on Earth and reduce further the already fragile ozone layer.

While scientists are not sure this will happen the possibility is frightening enough! Some scientists have concluded that a similar event was the cause for the Permian-Triassic Extinction event which killed off about 96% of all marine species and 70% of land species.

So I am not so worried about a little water rising up as much as I am worried about the possible long term potentially catastrophic events.