Estimating trends of the Mediterranean Sea level changes from tide gauge and satellite altimetry data (1993-2015)

The impact of climate change on sea level has received a great deal of attention by scientists worldwide. In this context, the problem of sea levels on global and regional scales have been analyzed in a number of studies based on tide gauges observations and satellite altimetry measurements. This study focuses on trend estimates from 18 high-quality tide gauge stations along the Mediterranean Sea coast. The seasonal Mann-Kendall test was run at a 5% significance level for each of the 18 stations for the period of 1993-2015 (satellite altimetry era). The results of this test indicate that the trends for 17 stations were statistically significant and showed an increase (no significant trend was observed only at one station). The rates of sea level change for the 17 stations that exhibit significant trends, estimated using seasonal Sen's approach, range after correction for Vertical Land Motion (VLM) from 1.48 to 8.72 mm/a for the period 1993-2015. Furthermore, the magnitude of change at the location of each tide gauge station was estimated using the satellite altimetry measurements. Thus, the results obtained agree with those from the tide-gauge data analysis.     

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.     

南海潮汐主要分潮振幅变化趋势研究

潮汐变化研究对于海洋工程、沿海地区洪涝灾害预防、海上交通等各个方面都有着重要的意义。由于验潮站都集中在近海,所以之前潮汐变化研究主要集中在近海海域。相比之下,深海地区由于长期高频水位观测的缺乏导致相关的潮汐变化研究非常少。基于近海验潮站数据和深海卫星高度计数据,本文首次用非平稳潮汐调和分析工具包S_TIDE提取了南海4大主要分潮(M₂、S₂、K₁、O₁)振幅的长期趋势。研究发现在南海大部分地区,4大主要分潮的振幅都是比较稳定的,不存在显著的上升趋势或下降趋势。在南海少部分地区4大主要分潮的振幅存在显著的趋势,最大的上升趋势可达2.91 mm/a,最大的下降趋势可达3.50 mm/a。该海域潮汐的长期趋势可能与内潮海表面信号的变化有关。卫星观测到的潮汐既包含正压潮,也包含内潮海表面信号。南海作为全球内潮活动最活跃的海域之一,其内潮海表面信号是非常显著的。而内潮对海洋层化的变化是非常敏感的,海洋层化的变化会影响内潮的生成、传播和耗散以及内潮在海表的显示,最终引起该海域潮汐振幅的长期趋势。     

Ku– and Ka-band Altimeter Data in the Northwestern Mediterranean Sea: Impact on the Observation of the Coastal Ocean Variability

The strong increase in altimeter measurement errors near land surfaces is a limiting factor for coastal applications. We analyze the performance of the new Ka-band SARAL/AltiKa (SRL) mission in the northwestern Mediterranean Sea. SRL sea surface height (SSH) measurements are compared with those from the Jason-2 Ku-band satellite mission. The results show a significant increase in both quantity and quality of SSH data available near coastlines when using SRL data. Available edited data are 95.1% of SRL compared with 88.6% for Jason-2. Closer than 10 km to the coastline, available SRL data are still about 60% and only about 31% for Jason-2. Comparisons of the altimeter sea level variations are made with available coastal tide gauge data. The differences obtained between altimeter and tide gauge SLA time series are reduced for SRL (3.3 cm in average) compared with Jason-2 (4.2 cm in average), especially closer than 30 km to the land. It results in higher correlations (by 30%) obtained with SRL data. The coastal circulation derived from altimetry using SRL data shows an offshore meandering, which is more stable in time and with larger velocities close to the coast than that derived from Jason-2 observations.     

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.     

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.     

Comparison and Combination of Coastal and Off-Shore Tide Gauge Measurements from Eivissa Island,Western Mediterranean

Two sea-level records, spanning eight months of simultaneous data in 2002, have been derived from pressure tide gauge measurements at Sant Antoni harbor (Eivissa Island, Western Mediterranean) and off Es Vedrà island, 15 km SW from Sant Antoni. The two time series are compared and used to characterize the sea-level variability in the Balearic Sea. The main forcings for the observed variations, astronomic tides, and meteorologic forcing by the inverse barometer effect are quantified. In a further step, an amplitude transfer function is determined, reflecting the frequency dependent amplification or damping of the nontidal sea-level residuals between both locations due to their local topography. The interpretation of the obtained transfer function indicates sea-level modulating topographic specifics not only for the coastal record at Sant Antoni, but also at the Es Vedrà site. In general, the application of such a transfer function allows the prediction of off-shore sea-level variations from coastal tide gauge measurements. In the present study, ellipsoidal sea-surface heights for Es Vedrà are inferred from Sant Antoni tide gauge data with an accuracy of about 1.5 cm by applying the determined transfer function and a geoid model.     

中国沿海验潮站及其邻近地区陆地垂直运动分析

利用中国沿岸验潮站GNSS和邻近地区陆态网络GNSS基准站观测数据,结合卫星高度计和验潮站海平面观测数据分析了中国沿海验潮站及其邻近地区陆地垂直运动特征。中国沿海海平面观测以及验潮站和陆态网GNSS基准站观测结果显示,中国沿海省区市及沿海验潮站陆地垂直运动总体表现为：辽宁至江苏沿海上升、上海至福建泉州沿海沉降、福建厦门至广西沿海升降交替的格局,局部滨海平原地区如华北平原天津南部、河北平原的沧县则表现出显著的沉降特征。验潮站陆地的抬升与沉降是沿海相对海平面变化的重要组成部分,准确掌握验潮站及其邻近区域的陆地垂直运动特征,可为沿海相对海平面变化分析、海平面变化影响评估以及未来海平面上升预测提供依据。     

东南沿海台风风暴潮增水过程中非线性机制和地形的作用研究:以1509号台风"灿鸿"为例

本文基于FVCOM（Finite Volume Community Ocean Model）构建了一个覆盖中国渤海、黄海和东海的数值模型,采用NCEP-CFSR风场数据对1509号台风“灿鸿”产生的风暴潮进行模拟,与实测水位数据的对比表明该模型可靠、模拟结果合理。基于此模型,本文对非线性作用和地形在风暴潮增水过程中的作用进行了研究。首先,重点分析了增水过程中潮汐与风暴潮的非线性作用,结果表明：高潮时非线性作用使增水值降低;低潮时非线性作用使增水值升高。另外,开边界处分别只添加M₂、S₂和K₁分潮,分析天文潮的潮高和周期对非线性作用的影响,结果表明：潮高越高,非线性作用越明显;半日潮的非线性作用较全日潮更明显;并且,增水极值附近出现的半日周期的波动也与非线性作用有关。其次,除了非线性作用,地形对风暴潮的增水也有一定影响,本文改变地形的实验结果表明：坡度越大,增水极值越小。琉球群岛的存在使得东南沿海出现风暴潮增水的面积减小,但使得风暴潮增水的高值区域扩大。     

Absolute sea level variability of Arctic Ocean in 1993–2018 from satellite altimetry and tide gauge observations

Arctic absolute sea level variations were analyzed based on multi-mission satellite altimetry data and tide gauge observations for the period of 1993–2018. The range of linear absolute sea level trends were found ?2.00 mm/a to 6.88 mm/a excluding the central Arctic, positive trend rates were predominantly located in shallow water and coastal areas, and negative rates were located in high-latitude areas and Baffin Bay. Satellite-derived results show that the average secular absolute sea level trend was (2.53±0.42) mm/a in the Arctic region. Large differences were presented between satellite-derived and tide gauge results, which are mainly due to low satellite data coverage, uncertainties in tidal height processing and vertical land movement (VLM). The VLM rates at 11 global navigation satellite system stations around the Arctic Ocean were analyzed, among which 6 stations were tide gauge co-located, the results indicate that the absolute sea level trends after VLM corrected were of the same magnitude as satellite altimetry results. Accurately calculating VLM is the primary uncertainty in interpreting tide gauge measurements such that differences between tide gauge and satellite altimetry data are attributable generally to VLM.     

Recent sea level trends and accelerations: Comparison of tide gauge and satellite results

A comprehensive set of 456 monthly tide gauge records is analyzed for trend and acceleration over the same period that satellite altimetry was analyzed (1993 to 2011). Additionally, a 90 tide gauge record subset is analyzed for which GPS data are available. The selection criterion for the tide gauge data is 85% data completion. All measurements are adjusted for vertical land motion. Results from 456 pairs of tide gauges, adjusted for Global Isostatic Adjustment, and satellite recordings located within 1° root-mean-square latitude and longitude separation differences are compared. The tide gauge trends and accelerations are adjusted for spatial bias using the more globally dense satellite data.The average trends of the 456 and 90 gauge sets (3.26 and 2.68 mm/year, respectively) agree reasonably well with the global trend average of the satellite data (3.09 mm/year). Average trends for the 456 tide gauges are also in good agreement (within 95% confidence limits) with trends based on satellite data within the 1° satellite proximity criterion (3.26 and 3.31 mm/year, respectively). The trends for the 90 gauges with GPS nearby and qualifying satellite locations are 2.68 and 2.74 mm/year, respectively. For all datasets analyzed, the accelerations are quite strongly negative but the uncertainty is relatively large. Adjustment of the tide gauge trends for spatial bias modified both trends and accelerations significantly and decreased trend differences between the 456 and 90 gauge datasets. The spatially adjusted tide gauge trends (2.95 and 2.72 mm/year, respectively for the 456 and 90 tide gauges sets) are somewhat less than the 1° spatially adjusted satellite data (3.09 mm/year). Whether the increased sea level trend of approximately 3 mm/year measured by the satellites since the 1990's is a long-term increase from the 20th Century value of approximately 1.7 mm/year or part of a cycle will require longer records; however, the negative accelerations support some cyclic character.     

近几十年来珠江三角洲网河水位时空变化及原因初探

根据珠江三角洲网河区25站的验潮序列,应用功率谱分析和正、反傅氏变换方法对网河区月均水位序列的周期变化和趋势变化进行研究,探讨大规模人类采砂活动对珠江三角洲网河区近几十年来水位变化的影响。结果表明:水位序列中包含0.2~11.7 a多尺度的显著周期波动;应用正、反傅氏变换方法消除月均序列中的短周期波动(消除6 a以短的周期),由低通序列进行一元线性回归分析确定水位变化率,变化率从－3.8到3.7 mm/a不等,珠江三角洲网河区水位总体呈上升趋势。从网河区上段到下段再到口门,水位变化趋势由下降转为上升;变化率由负转正,并逐渐增大。网河区上段部分验潮站水位下降主要与西北江网河上段大规模无序采砂引起的河床大幅人为下切有关;大规模采砂导致局部水位下降,使不同时段的水位变化率发生波动,甚至造成部分验潮站的水位变化由缓慢上升转为大幅下降的"逆变"。     

Extreme Statistics of Storm Surges in the Baltic Sea

Statistical analysis of the extreme values of the Baltic Sea level has been performed for a series of observations for 15–125 years at 13 tide gauge stations. It is shown that the empirical relation between value of extreme sea level rises or ebbs (caused by storm events) and its return period in the Baltic Sea can be well approximated by the Gumbel probability distribution. The maximum values of extreme floods/ebbs of the 100-year recurrence were observed in the Gulf of Finland and the Gulf of Riga. The two longest data series, observed in Stockholm and Vyborg over 125 years, have shown a significant deviation from the Gumbel distribution for the rarest events. Statistical analysis of the hourly sea level data series reveals some asymmetry in the variability of the Baltic Sea level. The probability of rises proved higher than that of ebbs. As for the magnitude of the 100-year recurrence surge, it considerably exceeded the magnitude of ebbs almost everywhere. This asymmetry effect can be attributed to the influence of low atmospheric pressure during storms. A statistical study of extreme values has also been applied to sea level series for Narva over the period of 1994–2000, which were simulated by the ROMS numerical model. Comparisons of the “simulated” and “observed” extreme sea level distributions show that the model reproduces quite satisfactorily extreme floods of “moderate” magnitude; however, it underestimates sea level changes for the most powerful storm surges.     

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.     

Model-based clustering of Baltic sea-level

Long (>30 years) monthly records of relative sea-level heights from tide gauges in the Baltic sea are analyzed. Time series clustering based on forecast densities is applied in order to describe regional sea-level variability in the Baltic Sea in terms of future relative heights. The tide gauge records are clustered on the basis of forecasts at 3-month and 6-month horizons. For the 3-month horizon, the results of the cluster analysis show a fairly spatial coherency in terms of grouping together locations from the same sub-basin, with the northern records in the Bothnian Sea and Gulf of Finland clustering together, followed by the tide gauges in the Baltic Proper and lastly the southernmost stations in the western Baltic. For the 6-month horizon, the results show a higher degree of homogeneity between different locations, but a clear separation between the stations at the Baltic entrance and the tide gauges inside the Baltic basin. Moreover, when considering detrended records, reflecting mainly the seasonal cycle, the clustering results are more homogeneous and suggest a distinct response of coastal sea-level in spring and in summer.     

赤湾验潮站搬迁前后潮位变化特征及其订正

赤湾海洋站是国家海洋局在深圳西部海域唯一的潮汐观测站点,至今已观测30多年。由于地理位置特殊,2008年起该站被选为《中国海平面公报》反映珠江口海平面变化的代表站。2012年10月该站搬至新验潮站,受此影响,其潮位观测序列产生了差异性和不连续性。本文通过计算机编程实现了对海洋站水文气象数据的质量控制。同时,采用赤湾站与邻近验潮站进行对比的方法得出新旧站的潮位差值,初步探讨了搬站前后潮位观测结果的订正方案,并研究其建站以来的历史海平面变化特征。这对确保该站潮位资料的准确性及代表性具有重要意义,同时也为珠江口海域防灾减灾、涉海工程、风暴潮预报等提供了数据支撑。     

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.     

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.     

Holocene Climate Optimum and Last Glacial Maximum in the Mediterranean: the marine oxygen isotope record

Reconstructions with comprehensive estimates of confidence intervals are presented of changes in the W–E stable oxygen isotope gradient in Mediterranean surface waters between the Holocene Climate Optimum and the Present, and between the Last Glacial Maximum and the Present. Rigorous statistical assessment is made of the significances of the mean geographic trends observed in these reconstructions. Firstly, it is concluded that any reconstruction should strictly be based on values obtained by analyses of one single foraminiferal species throughout the basin, as different species are found to respond with isotopic variations of different amplitudes to climatic/hydrographic change. This difference is tentatively related to differences between the habitats and seasons of growth of the various species. Secondly, a significant increase of roughly a factor 3 is found in the Mediterranean W–E oxygen isotope gradient during the Last Glacial Maximum, relative to the Present. This difference is almost entirely due to increased glacial values in the Levantine Sea, which are considered to be a result of a combination of increased evaporation rates and/or somewhat cooler than anticipated surface water conditions. Thirdly, an eastward increase of roughly half the present-day magnitude is found for the W–E oxygen isotope gradient during the Holocene Climate Optimum. Values in the Levantine Sea appear to have undergone up to 0.3‰ more depletion than those elsewhere in the eastern Mediterranean. However, no significant trends are found between the eastern and western parts of the Levantine Sea, nor between values near the Nile delta and those from elsewhere in the Levantine Sea. The Holocene Climate Optimum's eastward increase in the Mediterranean oxygen isotope gradient, although weaker than the Present, suggests that the Mediterranean continued to function as a concentration basin, albeit in a less vigorous way than today. Finally, simple mixing arguments are used to argue that inferred oxygen isotope ratios of surface waters may not be used as an indication of conservative property (e.g. salinity) distribution on geological timescales, but instead show amplitudes of response to climatic/hydrographic changes that likely are >2 times larger than the corresponding amplitudes of response for truly conservative properties.     

利用验潮站数据进行三种潮汐模型的精度分析

采用全球分布的565个验潮站水位资料对NAO.99b,CSR4.0和TPXO7.2三种潮汐模型进行精度评估。结果表明:在全球海洋范围内,NAO.99b模型精度最高;在黄海海域,TPXO7.2模型的精度最高;在东海和南海海域,则是NAO.99b模型最优;在深海海域,三种模型精度差异不大;在浅海海域,采用同化方法的潮汐模型比采用经验方法的潮汐模型更有优势。