Blackjack: Melting/thawing of the Arctic ice cap makes no change to sea level. The ice is floating. It is not an additional mass of frozen water that is somehow added to the ocean thereby raising sea levels, but it is mainly frozen sea water. Sea ice that builds up through precipitation of show is derived by evaporation in warmer latitudes. The net effect on sea level is zero because it is a closed system i.e. evaporates in low latitudes and precipitates in high latitudes. It is ice derived from glaciers that affects sea levels.
