Pole tide in the Baltic Sea

The pole tide, which is driven by the Chandler Wobble, has a period of about 14 months and typical amplitudes in the World Ocean of ～0.5 cm. However, in the Baltic Sea the pole tide is anomalously high. To examine this effect we used long-term hourly sea level records from 23 tide gauges and monthly records from 64 stations. The lengths of the series were up to 123 years for hourly records and 211 years for monthly records. High-resolution spectra revealed a cluster of neighboring peaks with periods from 410 to 440 days. The results of spectral analysis were applied to estimate the integral amplitudes of pole tides from all available tide gauges along the coast of the Baltic Sea. The height of the pole tide was found to gradually increase from the entrance (Danish Straits, 1.5–2 cm) to the northeast end of the sea. The largest amplitudes—up to 4.5–7 cm—were observed in the heads of the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Bothnia. Significant temporal fluctuations in amplitudes and periods of the pole tide were observed during the 19th and 20th centuries.     

Vertical Land Motion in the Mediterranean Sea from Altimetry and Tide Gauge Stations

We have computed estimates of the rate of vertical land motion in the Mediterranean Sea from differences of sea level heights measured by the TOPEX/Poseidon radar altimeter and by a set of tide gauge stations. The comparison of data at 16 tide gauges, using both hourly data from local datasets and monthly data from the PSMSL dataset, shows a general agreement, significant differences are found at only one location. Differences of near-simultaneous, monthly and deseasoned monthly sea level height time-series have been considered in order to reduce the error in the estimated linear-term. In a subset of 23 tide gauge stations the mean accuracy of the estimated vertical rates is 2.3 ± 0.8 mm/yr. Results for various stations are in agreement with estimates of vertical land motion from geodetic methods. A comparison with vertical motion estimated by GPS at four locations shows a mean difference of ?0.04 ± 1.8 mm/yr, however the length of the GPS time-series and the number of locations are too small to draw general conclusions.     

Absolute Sea Level Surface Modeling for the Mediterranean from Satellite Altimeter and Tide Gauge Measurements

Changes in the height of the ocean can be described through the relative and absolute sea level changes depending on the geodetic reference the sea level records are related to. Satellite altimetry provides absolute sea level (ASL) measurements related to the global geodetic reference, whereas tide gauges provide relative sea level (RSL) measurements related to the adjacent land. This study aims at computing the ASL surfaces for different time epochs from combined satellite altimeter and tide gauge records. A method of sea level data fusion is proposed to enable modeling of the impact of present and future sea level changes on the coast. Sea surface modeling was investigated for ten different gridding methods commonly used for the interpolation of altimeter data over the open ocean and extrapolation over the coastal zones. The performance of gridding methods was assessed based on the comparison of the gridded altimeter data and corrected tide gauge measurements. Finally, the sea level surfaces related to the GRS80 global reference ellipsoid were computed for the Mediterranean Sea over the altimeter period. In addition, the current sea level trends were estimated from both sea level measurements.     

The importance of the vertical accuracy of digital elevation models in gauging inundation by sea level rise along the Valdelagrana beach and marshes (Bay of Cádiz, SW Spain)

The identification of potential coastal inundation caused by future sea level rise requires not only time series records from tide gauges, but also high-quality digital elevation models (DEMs). This study assesses the importance of DEM vertical accuracy in predicting inundation by sea level rise along the Valdelagrana beach and marshes of the Bay of Cádiz (SW Spain). A present-day (2000) and a projected (2100) high tide have been spatialized over a traditional (aerial photogrammetry) regional DEM of Andalusia with a horizontal spatial resolution of 10 m and a vertical accuracy of 0.68 m RMSE (root mean square error), and a LIDAR-derived DEM of the Valdelagrana study site with the same spatial resolution but a vertical accuracy of 0.205 m RMSE. The simulations are based on a bathtub model, which accounts for the effect of vertical barriers. The results reveal that the presence of infrastructures such as roads and salterns is the key to delimit the extent of water penetration during high tides in an otherwise homogeneously flat area comprising the beach and marshes of Valdelagrana. Moreover, in comparison with the highly accurate LIDAR DEM, the inundation areas derived from the lower-resolution DEM are overestimated by 72 % and 26 % for the present-day and future scenarios respectively. These findings demonstrate that DEM vertical accuracy is a critical variable in meaningfully gauging the impacts of sea level rise.     

GNSS-Based Sea Level Monitoring

This paper attempts to assess the use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) as an accurate, reliable, and easy tool for sea level measurement. The GNSS technique was incorporated into a float based tide gauge system. A prototype of such an instrument was developed based on principles of conventional tide gauges, where high frequency noise is reduced mechanically. The ability of the GNSS based tide gauge (GTG) to monitor sea levels was tested in several experiments. The performance of the GTG was compared to that of a traditional tide gauge. The method of data analysis and data comparison between the GPS measurements and the tide gauge data is presented. The results show that the GTG is equal in performance to the traditional float operated tide gauge. It seems that the GTG is capable of delivering the same level of accuracy (1 cm), and its results are as reliable as its competitor, the traditional float tide gauge. The suggested instrument can be easily integrated into the array of permanent GNSS stations and assist in absolute measurements of sea level changes, caused by global warming and the greenhouse effect, for example.     

GNSS-Based Sea Level Monitoring

This paper attempts to assess the use of Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) as an accurate, reliable, and easy tool for sea level measurement. The GNSS technique was incorporated into a float based tide gauge system. A prototype of such an instrument was developed based on principles of conventional tide gauges, where high frequency noise is reduced mechanically. The ability of the GNSS based tide gauge (GTG) to monitor sea levels was tested in several experiments. The performance of the GTG was compared to that of a traditional tide gauge. The method of data analysis and data comparison between the GPS measurements and the tide gauge data is presented. The results show that the GTG is equal in performance to the traditional float operated tide gauge. It seems that the GTG is capable of delivering the same level of accuracy (1 cm), and its results are as reliable as its competitor, the traditional float tide gauge. The suggested instrument can be easily integrated into the array of permanent GNSS stations and assist in absolute measurements of sea level changes, caused by global warming and the greenhouse effect, for example.     

Interannual Sea Level Variations in the South China Sea Over 1950–2009

Spatial patterns of interannual sea level variations in the South China Sea (SCS) are investigated by analyzing an EOF-based 2-dimensional past sea level reconstruction from 1950 to 2009 and satellite altimetry data from 1993 to 2009. Long-term tide gauge records from 14 selected stations in this region are also used to assess the quality of reconstructed sea levels and determine the rate of sea level along the coastal area. We found that the rising rate of sea levels derived from merged satellite altimetry data during 1993–2009 and past sea level reconstruction over 1950–2009 is about 3.9 ± 0.6 mm/yr and 1.7 ± 0.1 mm/yr, respectively. For the longer period, this rate is not significantly different from the global mean rate (of 1.8 ± 0.3 mm/yr). The interannual mean sea level of the SCS region appears highly correlated with Niño 4 indices (a proxy of El Niño-Southern Oscillation/ENSO), suggesting that the interannual sea level variations over the SCS region is driven by ENSO events. Interpolation of the reconstructed sea level data for 1950–2009 at sites where tide gauge records are of poor quality (either short or gapped) show that sea level along the Chinese coastal area is rising faster than the global mean rate of 1.8 mm/yr. At some sites, the rate is up to 2.5 mm/yr.     

Absolute Calibration of Jason-1 and TOPEX/Poseidon Altimeters in Corsica Special Issue: Jason-1 Calibration/Validation

The double geodetic Corsica site, which includes Ajaccio-Aspretto and Cape Senetosa (40 km south Ajaccio) in the western Mediterranean area, has been chosen to permit the absolute calibration of radar altimeters. It has been developed since 1998 at Cape Senetosa and, in addition to the use of classical tide gauges, a GPS buoy is deployed every 10 days under the satellites ground track (10 km off shore) since 2000. The 2002 absolute calibration campaign made from January to September in Corsica revealed the necessity of deploying different geodetic techniques on a dedicated site to reach an accuracy level of a few mm: in particular, the French Transportable Laser Ranging System (FTLRS) for accurate orbit determination, and various geodetic equipment as well as a local marine geoid, for monitoring the local sea level and mean sea level. TOPEX/Poseidon altimeter calibration has been performed from cycle 208 to 365 using M-GDR products, whereas Jason-1 altimeter calibration used cycles from 1 to 45 using I-GDR products. For Jason-1, improved estimates of sea-state bias and columnar atmospheric wet path delay as well as the most precise orbits available have been used. The goal of this article is to give synthetic results of the analysis of the different error sources for the tandem phase and for the whole studied period, as geophysical corrections, orbits and reference frame, sea level, and finally altimeter biases. Results are at the millimeter level when considering one year of continuous monitoring; they show a great consistency between both satellites with biases of 6 ± 3 mm (ALT-B) and 120 ± 7 mm, respectively, for TOPEX/Poseidon and Jason-1.     

Calibration and Verification of Jason-1 Using Global Along-Track Residuals with TOPEX Special Issue: Jason-1 Calibration/Validation

It is demonstrated that the Jason-1 measurements of sea surface height (SSH), wet path delay, and ionosphere path delay are within required accuracies, via a global cross-calibration with similar measurements made by TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) over a 6-month period. Since the two satellites were on the same groundtrack separated in time by only 70 s, measurements were recorded at approximately the same location and time. The variations in the wet path delay measured by Jason-1 compared to T/P are only 5 mm RMS, well within the required performance of 1.2 cm RMS. The RMS of the ionosphere differences is also well within the expected values, with a mean RMS of 1.2 cm. The largest difference is that the Jason-1 SSH is biased high relative to T/P SSH by 144 mm after the T/P and Jason-1 data are both corrected with improved sea state bias (SSB) models. However, the bias will change if a different SSB model is used, so the user should be cautious that the bias used matches the SSB models. The bias is generally constant within ± 10 mm in the open ocean, but appears to be higher or lower in some regions. Additionally, the SSH has been verified by comparison with 36 island tide gauges over the same period. After removing the global relative bias, the Jason-1 SSH data agree with tide gauges within 3.7 cm RMS and with T/P data within about 3.5 cm RMS on average for 1-s measurements, meeting the required accuracy of 4.2 cm RMS.     

Inferring the global mean sea level from a global tide gauge network

An attempt is made to infer the global mean sea level(GMSL) from a global tide gauge network and frame the problem in terms of the limitations of the network. The network,owing to its limited number of gauges and poor geographical distribution complicated further by unknown vertical land movements,is ill suited for measuring the GMSL. Yet it remains the only available source for deciphering the sea level rise over the last 100 a. The poor sampling characteristics of the tide gauge network have necessitated the usage of statistical inference. A linear optimal estimator based on the Gauss-Markov theorem seems well suited for the job. This still leaves a great deal of freedom in choosing the estimator. GMSL is poorly correlated with tide gauge measurements because the small uniform rise and fall of sea level are masked by the far larger regional signals. On the other hand,a regional mean sea level(RMSL) is much better correlated with the corresponding regional tide gauge measurements. Since the GMSL is simply the sum of RMSLs,the problem is transformed to one of estimating the RMSLs from regional tide gauge measurements. Specifically for the annual heating and cooling cycle,we separate the global ocean into 10-latitude bands and compute for each 10-latitude band the estimator that predicts its RMSL from tide gauges within. In the future,the statistical correlations are to be computed using satellite altimetry. However,as a first attempt,we have used numerical model outputs instead to isolate the problem so as not to get distracted by altimetry or tide gauge errors. That is,model outputs for sea level at tide gauge locations of the GLOSS network are taken as tide gauge measurements,and the RMSLs are computed from the model outputs. The results show an estimation error of approximately 2 mm versus an error of 2.7 cm if we simply average the tide gauge measurements to estimate the GMSL,caused by the much larger regional seasonal cycle and mesoscale variation plaguing the individual tide gauges. The numerical model,Los Alamos POP model Run 11 lasting 3 1/4 a,is one of the best eddy-resolving models and does a good job simulating the annual heating and cooling cycle,but it has no global or regional trend. Thus it has basically succeeded in estimating the seasonal cycle of the GMSL. This is still going to be the case even if we use the altimetry data because the RMSLs are dominated by the seasonal cycle in relatively short periods. For estimating the GMSL trend,longer records and low-pass filtering to isolate the statistical relations that are of interest. Here we have managed to avoid the much larger regional seasonal cycle plaguing individual tide gauges to get a fairly accurate estimate of the much smaller seasonal cycle in the GMSL so as to enhance the prospect of an accurate estimate of GMSL trend in short periods. One should reasonably expect to be able to do the same for longer periods during which tide gauges are plagued by much larger regional interannual(e. g.,ENSO events) and decadal sea level variations. In the future,with the availability of the satellite altimeter data,we could use the same approach adopted here to estimate the seasonal variations of GMSL and RMSL accurately and remove these seasonal variations accordingly so as to get a more accurate statistical inference between the tide gauge data and the RMSLs(therefore the GMSL) at periods longer than 1 a,i. e.,the long-term trend.     

A New Methodology for Incorporating Tide Gauge Data in Sea Surface Topography Models

As part of the Vertical Offshore Reference Frames (VORF) project sponsored by the U. K. Hydrographic Office, a new model for Sea Surface Topography (SST) around the British Isles has been developed. For offshore areas (greater than 30 km from the coast), this model is largely derived from satellite altimetry. However, its accuracy and level of detail have been enhanced in coastal areas by the inclusion of not only the 60 PSMSL tide gauges with long-term records around the coasts of the United Kingdom and Ireland but also some 385 gauges established at different epochs and for different observation spans by the U. K. Admiralty. All tide gauge data were brought into a common reference frame by a combination of datum models and direct GPS observations, but a more significant challenge was to bring all short-term sea level observations to an unbiased value at a common epoch. This was achieved through developing a spatial-temporal correlation model for the variations in mean sea level around the British Isles, which in turn meant that gauges with long-term observation spans could be used as control points to improve the accuracy of Admiralty gauges. It is demonstrated that the latter can contribute point observations of mean sea level (MSL) with a precision of 0.078 m. A combination of least squares collocation and interpolation was developed to merge the coastal point and offshore gridded data sets, with particular algorithms having to be developed for different configurations of coastal topology. The resulting model of sea surface topography is shown to present a smooth transition from inshore coastal areas to offshore zones. Further benefits of the techniques developed include an enhanced methodology for detecting datum discontinuities at permanent tide gauges.     

Direct determination of tidal levels for engineering applications based on biological observations

The scarcity of tide gauges in a global scale and the variability of the tidal levels along contiguous coasts mainly due to changing hydrographic conditions make the determination of tidal levels, especially of the Mean Sea Level, not an easy task. Determination of such levels with a precision of about 10 cm, necessary for most coastal engineering works, is usually based on records of temporary tide gauges or on geomorphological techniques. In this paper we present an alternative approach permitting to accurately identify tidal levels with a precision suitable for civil engineering applications based on biological observations on rocky shores, including breakwaters and quays. More specifically, we present evidence that the biological zonation, i.e. the distribution of coastal species in well-defined sub-horizontal belts, is practically insensitive to seasonal and other small-scale fluctuations of the sea level and is clearly related to certain levels, mostly the Mean Low Water (MLW). This approach, somewhat similar to what has been used in the past (for instance for the determination of the geodetic vertical datum in the Republic of Venice, Italy, till approximately AD 1800), permits direct determination of the Mean Sea Level or of other tidal levels on the basis of biological observations without statistical analyses of tide-gauge records with an accuracy of 5–10 cm, especially in microtidal, low-energy coasts.     

A Kalman Filter Approach to Realize the Lowest Astronomical Tide Surface

In this paper , we present a novel Kalman filter approach to combine a hydrodynamic model-derived lowest astronomical tide (LAT) surface with tide gauge record-derived LAT values. In the approach, tidal water levels are assimilated into the model. As such, the combination is guided by the model physics. When validating the obtained “Kalman-filtered LAT realization” at all tide gauges, we obtained an overall root-mean-square (RMS) difference of 15.1 cm. At the tide gauges not used in the data assimilation, the RMS is 17.9 cm. We found that the assimilation reduces the overall RMS difference by ～ 31% and ～ 22%, respectively. In the Dutch North Sea and Wadden Sea, the RMS differences are 6.6 and 14.8 cm (all tide gauges), respectively. Furthermore, we address the problem of LAT realization in intertidal waters where LAT is not defined. We propose to replace LAT by pseudo-LAT, which we suggest to realize similarly as LAT except that all water level boundary conditions and assimilated tidal water levels have to be enlarged by a constant value that is removed afterward. Using this approach, we obtained a smooth reference surface for the Dutch Wadden Sea that fits LAT at the North Sea boundary within a few centimeters.     

The state‐of‐the‐art in marine navigation

Tide gauges distributed all over the world provide valuable information for monitoring mean sea level changes. The statistical models used in estimating sea level change from the tide gauge data assume implicitly that the random model components are stationary in variance. We show that for a large number of global tide gauge data this is not the case for the seasonal part using a variate-differencing algorithm. This finding is important for assessing the reliability of the present estimates of mean sea level changes because nonstationarity of the data may have marked impact on the sea level rate estimates, especially, for the data from short records.     

Vertical Land Motion in the Mediterranean Sea from Altimetry and Tide Gauge Stations

We have computed estimates of the rate of vertical land motion in the Mediterranean Sea from differences of sea level heights measured by the TOPEX/Poseidon radar altimeter and by a set of tide gauge stations. The comparison of data at 16 tide gauges, using both hourly data from local datasets and monthly data from the PSMSL dataset, shows a general agreement, significant differences are found at only one location. Differences of near-simultaneous, monthly and deseasoned monthly sea level height time-series have been considered in order to reduce the error in the estimated linear-term. In a subset of 23 tide gauge stations the mean accuracy of the estimated vertical rates is 2.3 ± 0.8 mm/yr. Results for various stations are in agreement with estimates of vertical land motion from geodetic methods. A comparison with vertical motion estimated by GPS at four locations shows a mean difference of -0.04 ± 1.8 mm/yr, however the length of the GPS time-series and the number of locations are too small to draw general conclusions.     

Ocean Tides Observed from A GPS Receiver on Floating Sea Ice Near Chinese Zhongshan Station,Antarctica

Due to limit of coverage in TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) satellite and sparseness of in-situ tide gauges around Antarctica, the accuracy of global ocean tide models in Antarctic seas is relatively poorer than in low- and mid-latitude regions. To better understand ocean tides in Prydz Bay, east Antarctica, a GPS receiver was deployed on floating sea ice to measure tide-induced ice motion in multiple campaigns. Four online Precise Point Positioning (PPP) services are used to process the GPS data in the kinematic PPP mode, and UTide software is used to separate the major tidal constituents. Comparison between results from different processing methods (relative processing solutions from Track, kinematic PPP solutions from online services) and with bottom pressure gauge (BPG) shows that, high-accuracy tidal information can be obtained from GPS observations on floating sea ice, the root-sum-square (RSS) for the eight major constituents (O1, K1, P1, Q1, M2, S2, N2, K2) is below 4 cm. We have also studied the impacts of data span and filter edge effects at daily boundaries on the accuracy of tide estimates, and found that to obtain reliable tide estimates and neglect the filter edge effects, continuous observation longer than 30 days is necessary. Our study suggests that GPS provides an independent method to estimate tides in Prydz Bay, and can be an alternative to tidal gauges, which are costly and hard to maintain in Antarctica.     

Submarine karst belt rimming the continental slope in the Straits of Florida

Nine submarine sinkholes have been surveyed and mapped with side-looking sonar and echo-sounder profiles in the Straits of Florida. These structures are irregularly distributed across the surface of the South Florida Margin, forming a discontinuous belt along the edge of the slope. The sinkholes occur in water depths too great to have ever been exposed above sea level, and some are several times larger than any known subaerial sinkholes in North America. Because most karst morphologies are the product of groundwater circulation, the distribution of submarine sinkholes in the Florida Straits may be directly related to the paleohydrology of the South Florida Platform. Received: 26 April 1999 / Revision accepted: 11 April 2000     

Sea level measurements for inferring ground deformations in Rabaul Caldera

Rabaul tide gauge records from 1968 through 1985 give the amount of vertical movement in the northern part of Rabaul Caldera. Monthly mean sea level data were compared with other regional tide gauge stations to remove large scale oceanographic effects. No large vertical movements (> 0.3 cm/yr) were noted in this portion of the caldera. The results of sea level measurements at other points around the caldera, from 1981 through 1983 are consistent with the 1 to 10 cm of uplift observed on Matupit Island from optical leveling surveys. There was relatively little vertical movement (～ 0.1 cm/yr) in the Vulcan area.     

Are Global Tide Gauge Data Stationary in Variance?

Tide gauges distributed all over the world provide valuable information for monitoring mean sea level changes. The statistical models used in estimating sea level change from the tide gauge data assume implicitly that the random model components are stationary in variance. We show that for a large number of global tide gauge data this is not the case for the seasonal part using a variate-differencing algorithm. This finding is important for assessing the reliability of the present estimates of mean sea level changes because nonstationarity of the data may have marked impact on the sea level rate estimates, especially, for the data from short records.     

Improving the Coastal Mean Dynamic Topography by Geodetic Combination of Tide Gauge and Satellite Altimetry

Abstract

The ocean mean dynamic topography (MDT) is the surface representation of the ocean circulation. The MDT may be determined by the ocean approach, which involves temporal averaging of numerical ocean circulation model information, or by the geodetic approach, wherein the MDT is derived using the ellipsoidal height of the mean sea surface (MSS), or mean sea level (MSL) minus the geoid as the geoid. The ellipsoidal height of the MSS might be estimated either by satellite or coastal tide gauges by connecting the tide gauge datum to the Earth-centred reference frame. In this article we present a novel approach to improve the coastal MDT, where the solution is based on both satellite altimetry and tide gauge data using new set of 302 tide gauges with ellipsoidal heights through the SONEL network. The approach was evaluated for the Northeast Atlantic coast where a dense network of GNSS-surveyed tide gauges is available. The typical misfit between tide gauge and satellite or oceanographic MDT was found to be around 9?cm. This misfit was found to be mainly due to small scale geoid errors. Similarly, we found, that a single tide gauge places only weak constraints on the coastal dynamic topography.