Ice Sheet Volume Calculator Formula

Understand the math behind the ice sheet volume calculator. Each variable explained with a worked example.

Use the Ice Sheet Volume Calculator

Formulas Used

Ice Volume

ice_volume = volume_km3

Sea Level Equivalent

sea_level_equiv_m = water_equiv_km3 / ocean_area_km2 * 1000000

Water Equivalent Volume

water_volume = water_equiv_km3

Variables

VariableDescriptionDefault
area_km2Ice Sheet Area(km²)1710000
avg_thickness_mAverage Ice Thickness(m)2000
ice_densityIce Density(kg/m³)917
ocean_area_km2Ocean Surface Area(km²)361000000
volume_km3Derived value= area_km2 * avg_thickness_m / 1000calculated
water_equiv_km3Derived value= volume_km3 * ice_density / 1000calculated

How It Works

Ice Sheet Volume and Sea Level

Ice sheets hold vast quantities of frozen water. If melted, this water raises global sea levels.

Formula

Volume (km³) = Area (km²) x Thickness (m) / 1000

Water Equivalent = Volume x Ice Density / Water Density

Sea Level Rise (m) = Water Equivalent (km³) / Ocean Area (km²) x 10^6

The Greenland ice sheet contains about 2.85 million km³ of ice, equivalent to roughly 7.2 m of sea level rise.

Worked Example

The Greenland ice sheet has an area of 1,710,000 km² and average thickness of 2,000 m.

area_km2 = 1710000avg_thickness_m = 2000ice_density = 917ocean_area_km2 = 361000000
  1. 01Volume = 1,710,000 x 2,000 / 1,000 = 3,420,000 km³
  2. 02Water equivalent = 3,420,000 x 917 / 1,000 = 3,136,140 km³
  3. 03Sea level = 3,136,140 / 361,000,000 x 1,000,000 = 8.69 m
  4. 04Note: actual Greenland SLE is ~7.2 m due to non-uniform thickness

Ready to run the numbers?

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