Is it possible for the poles to melt and for the world to be covered in water? Would it be as filled with water as in the movie 'Waterworld'?

Arpeggionist

It is entirely possible that the polar ice caps could melt. There was a time when there were no ice caps at all, and other times when the Arctic ice cap covered almost a third of modern-day Europe. In fact, right before the Cambrian Explosion the entire planet was covered in ice. But it would take the ice caps between 50 and 20,000 years to really melt, and even if they do melt entirely, there will still be plenty of land left (as there was in the time of the dinosaurs). Feb 15 05, 5:45 PM

MTPancreas

No Bottom line - if all the world's ice melted, the water level would rise not much more than 70 meters (around 230 feet). Details: Antarctica is covered with 90 percent of the world's ice. If all of the Antarctic ice melted, sea levels around the world would rise about 61 meters (200 feet). The North Pole ice is as thick as at the South Pole and it is all floating on the Arctic Ocean. If it melted sea levels would not be affected at all (just like ice cubes melting in a glass of water). The ice covering Greenlands would add another 7 meters (20 feet) to the oceans if it melted. While there would be some vast areas of currently dry land under water, the world would not even remotely be completely covered. Feb 12 06, 10:00 AM