How does the melting of polar ice caps affect the lithosphere or atmosphere?
It has no effect on the lithosphere. The lithosphere is the upper part of the mantle and the solid crust that we walk on. It has little effect on the atmosphere, too. However, it does give more liquid surface are to evaporate, and theoretically could lead to increased global warming, which could theoretically lead to increased evaporation, meaning more water vapor in the atmosphere. This could mean more rain during the summer, more snow in the winter — or possibly greater cloud cover, which would offset the theoretic global warming.
