Ice cap question?

[Smoblikat]

So I was about to watch the movie waterworld when a thought popped into my head. If the ice caps melted and all land was covered, except the mountains, wouldnt that mean that ALL the oxygen that would normally be at sea level be pushed up into the area where the mountains are, and all THAT oxygen would go where? Would it compress, or is there enough empty space left in the ozonye/atmosphere to handle the increased oxygen.

 

[id09542]

Would we also run out of oxygen as most of the plant life would be under water?

 

[MagnusTheBrewer]

Where do you think the majority of oxygen comes from?

 

[id09542]

I learned something today, I figured most oxygen came form land plants .... Nope algae is the biggest producer.

A new piece of trivia I'll probably never need 🙂

 

[Smoblikat]

What are you guys talking about? I know where all the oxygen comes from, and once there is noone taking in any there will still be plenty left so where does that go?

 

[Anteaus]

What are you guys talking about? I know where all the oxygen comes from, and once there is noone taking in any there will still be plenty left so where does that go?

If I understand your question, your asking what happens to the oxygen if there is nothing to breath it? Well, first off that won't be the case because even if you wipe out all the terrestrial creatures you will have oceans full of oxygen breathing animals. As for air, the atmosphere is constantly seeking equilibrium. It is also not a closed system. If there is an excess, some will be lost into space as it is displaced with other gases. Most likely, small adjustments will come as they always have.

Remember, oxygen wasn't always the dominate gas. In fact, early in Earth's history the atmosphere was almost completely CO2. Over hundreds of millions of years cyanobacteria began to populate the planet and the transition to an oxygen atmosphere began. Considering how late in the game terrestrial creates appeared, it's likely that removing them once again from the planet would have minimal impact on the atmosphere as a whole.

 

[serpretetsky]

So I was about to watch the movie waterworld when a thought popped into my head. If the ice caps melted and all land was covered, except the mountains, wouldnt that mean that ALL the oxygen that would normally be at sea level be pushed up into the area where the mountains are, and all THAT oxygen would go where? Would it compress, or is there enough empty space left in the ozonye/atmosphere to handle the increased oxygen.

sorry i'm late to your question, but the oxygen (and the air in general) would simply be pushed out farther into the vacuum of space. This is assuming there is no sudden increase or decrease in gaseous air (for example, assuming the ocean doesn't dissolve more air into its body)

 

[sm625]

Even if all the icebergs on the planet melted it wouldnt have much effect on oxygen distribution. One can even make the argument that water levels wouldnt even rise at all.

 

[Anteaus]

Even if all the icebergs on the planet melted it wouldnt have much effect on oxygen distribution. One can even make the argument that water levels wouldnt even rise at all.

True, but we aren't talking about ice bergs. Besides, the premise of the OPs question is theoretical as it requires Antartica to be completely devoid of ice.

 

[copeman]

Ive read if they melted, the temps around the world would change, as well as seasons due to the way the wind blows the water.