This is a couple of weeks old, but it’s too good not to bring it to your attention.

Melting icebergs causing sea level rise

Scientists have discovered that changes in the amount of ice floating in the polar oceans are causing sea levels to rise.

The research, published this week in Geophysical Research Letters, is the first assessment of how quickly floating ice is being lost today.

According to Archimedes’ principle, any floating object displaces its own weight of fluid. For example, an ice cube in a glass of water does not cause the glass to overflow as it melts.

But because sea water is warmer and more salty than floating ice, changes in the amount of this ice are having an effect on global sea levels.

The loss of floating ice is equivalent to 1.5 million Titanic-sized icebergs each year.  However, the study shows that spread across the global oceans, recent losses of floating ice amount to a sea level rise of just 49 micrometers per year – about a hair’s breadth.

According to lead author Professor Andrew Shepherd, of the University of Leeds, it would be unwise to discount this signal.

How unwise would it be? Well, not very.

Remember we’re talking about 49 micrometers per year. What is that, to quote CNN anchor Rick Sanchez, in English?

You’ll have to follow the jump to find out.

If Earth’s oceans rose 49 micrometers a year, it would take 526 years to climb an inch.

Everybody panic.