At first, the sea level will increase. Ice caps and glaciers contain 5,773,000 cubic miles of water. According to the researchers from the National Snow and Ice Data Center, if all glaciers melted at once the seas would rise approximately 230 feet. Fortunately this thing is not going to happen all at one, but it is a fact that sea levels will rise.
The second effect of melting ice caps will be the one of unbalancing the entire global ecosystem. The ice caps are made out of fresh water and when they melt, they will make the ocean less salty. This desalinization process will disturb the ocean current, which regulate temperatures. The stream irregularity would cool down the area around Northeast America and Western Europe. Luckily, that will slow some of the other effects of global warming in that area! Another consequence will be the temperature rise. Changing landscapes in the Arctic Circle will endanger many species of animals. Only the most adaptable will survive.
Ultimately, global warming could snowball with the ice caps gone. Ice caps are white and reflect sunlight, much of it being reflected back into space, further cooling Earth. If the ice caps melt, the only reflector is the ocean. Darker colors absorb sunlight, contributing to the global warming.
You may be insterested in learning more about Glacier park in the USA (it is basically disappearing because increasing temperatures). I concur with your last statement about global warming having a snowball affect on the enivorment.
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