ABSTRACT
This chapter overviews the social consequences of a melting world and, in turn, how melt becomes rising seas impacting the physical and social dynamics of coastal cities through the transformation of the world ocean, afflicted by the climate crisis. Analyzed from a cultural anthropological perspective, the chapter focuses on the social dimensions of climate change—how it is reshaping our encounters with the world and with each other. Throughout, the tools of Science and Technology Studies (STS) are highlighted because they prioritize the fusion of the social and natural sciences. This chapter centers on the concepts of “hydrological globalization” and the “world ocean” to demonstrate the interrelationships of melting ice and rising seas, emphasizing that the ability to hold the view of the physical sciences and the social sciences together in one analytic frame is critically important for better understanding and contending with climate change.
