In the southern hemisphere, the Antarctic continent is covered with an
even larger ice sheet. The
Antarctic continent is about 25% larger than the United States. If this ice sheet were
to melt entirely, global sea level would rise by about 70 meters. About 80% of the planetŐs
freshwater is locked up in this ice sheet. The Greenland ice sheet contains about 9% of the planetŐs freshwater, with
the remainder being contained mostly in
lakes and mountain glaciers.