In line with the Archimedes' principle, this ice displaces a volume of sea water whose weight is the same as its own. Were it to melt, the water thus produced would constitute exactly the same volume of sea water as the volume previously occupied by the ice, without any consequent change in sea level. The melting of sea ice in and of itself does not play any part, therefore, in rising sea levels. Antarctica contains 30 million km3 of ice, which represents 2 percent of the world's water, but 75 per cent of fresh water and 90 per cent of ice.