The study estimates that roughly half of that 0.43 inch rise was caused by thermal expansion of the oceans (as water warms, it becomes less dense and expands), some from from runoff from melting glaciers, and the rest from melting of Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets.

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High demand for water amid the heat wave and problems with soil shrinking as the ground warms has resulted in burst pipes and low water pressure in Oklahoma City, prompting officials to issue mandatory water-use restrictions for the first time in at least a decade, according to utilities department spokeswoman Debbie Ragan.

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If parts of these were to melt, the sea level would rise far more rapidly than in the past (when much of the rise has been because water expands as it warms).

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In absorption mode, the cloth can hold 340 percent of its own weight -- compared to just 18 percent without the polymer's aid -- and when it warms up, it releases the collected moisture as clean and pure potable water.

ENGADGET