One centimeter of the ocean contains approximately 3.6 billion cubic centimeters (cm³) of water.
Here's a breakdown of how that figure is derived:
- Ocean Surface Area: The Earth's oceans cover an estimated 360 million square kilometers.
- Conversion to Square Centimeters: To calculate the volume of water needed to raise the ocean level by 1 cm, we need to convert the surface area to square centimeters.
- 1 km = 100,000 cm
- 1 km² = (100,000 cm)² = 10,000,000,000 cm² or 10¹⁰ cm²
- Therefore, 360 million km² = 360,000,000 * 10¹⁰ cm² = 3.6 x 10¹⁸ cm² (3.6 billion billion cm²)
- Volume Calculation: Volume is calculated by multiplying the area by the height (or depth). In this case, the height is 1 cm.
- Volume = Area x Height
- Volume = 3.6 x 10¹⁸ cm² * 1 cm = 3.6 x 10¹⁸ cm³ (3.6 billion billion cm³)
- However, there's an error in the reference material. 3.6 x 10¹⁸ cm³ is 3.6 billion billion cm³, not 3.6 billion cm³
Therefore, to raise the ocean levels by 1 cm, you would need 3.6 x 10¹⁸ cm³ of water (3.6 billion billion cm³). The provided reference incorrectly states 3.6 billion cm³.