How to cite this WIREs title:
WIREs Clim Change

Impact Factor: 2.913

Sea level and climate: measurements and causes of changes

Overview

Anny Cazenave, Frédérique Remy

Published Online: Aug 17 2011

DOI: 10.1002/wcc.139

How to cite this article
Download citation
Contact the editor about this article
Authors: submit updates and notes
Comment on this article
Share

Full article on Wiley Online Library: HTML PDF

Can't access this content? Tell your librarian.

We review present‐day observations of sea level change and variability at global and regional scales, focusing on the altimetry era starting in the early 1990s. Over the past ∼18‐years, the rate of global mean sea level rise has reached 3.3 ± 0.4 mm/year, nearly twice that of the previous decades, although the observed larger sea level rise rate may be influenced by decadal or longer variations in the ocean. Moreover, sea level rates are not geographically uniform; in some regions like the tropical western Pacific, rates are up to 3–4 times higher than the global mean rate. We next discuss the climate‐related components of the global mean sea level rise. Over the last ∼18‐years, ocean thermal expansion contributes about one third to the observed rise while total land ice (glacier melting plus ice sheet mass loss) contribute the other two third. The spatial trend patterns evidenced over the altimetry period mostly result from nonuniform steric sea level changes (effects of ocean temperature and salinity), largely caused by wind‐driven ocean circulation changes. Such patterns are not stationary but oscillate through time on decadal/multidecadal time scale, in response to natural modes of the coupled ocean‐atmosphere system. We close up this review by briefly discussing future (21st century) sea level rise. Current limited knowledge of the future evolution of the mass balance of the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets leads to high uncertainty on the global mean sea level rise expected for the next 50–100 years. WIREs Clim Change 2011 2 647–662 DOI: 10.1002/wcc.139

Figure 1.

Twentieth century mean sea level from tide gauge data. Source: Black curve—data from Church and White;18 Red curve—data from Jevrejeva et al.15

[ Normal View 38K | Magnified View 68K ]

Figure 2.

Satellite altimetry‐based global mean sea level between January 1993 and March 2011. The curve is based on the Topex/Poseidon, Jason‐1, and Jason‐2 data (). Most updated geophysical and environmental corrections have been applied to the data, including the inverted barometer correction (see Ref 21 for details). A correction of −0.3 mm/year is also applied to account for GIA.19 Blue dots are 10‐day data; The red curve corresponds to a 6‐month smoothing of the blue dots.

[ Normal View 43K | Magnified View 78K ]

Figure 3.

Spatial trend patterns in sea level computed from January 1993 to October 2010 and based on the multimission (Topex/Poseidon, Jaon‐1, Jason‐2, ERS, and Envisat satellites), gridded sea level products available from the CLS/AVISO website () at weekly interval.

[ Normal View 186K | Magnified View 393K ]

Figure 4.

Ocean thermal expansion since 1950/1955 based on in situ temperature data down to 700 m. Source: Dotted curve—data from the WOD09 database34; Solid curve—data from Ishii and Kimoto.35

[ Normal View 10K | Magnified View 25K ]

Figure 5.

Steric sea level evolution since January 1993. Green curve: data from WOD09; Black, red and blue curves: data from different Argo data bases (see Ref 38 for details).

[ Normal View 37K | Magnified View 71K ]

Figure 6.

Compilation of published estimates of the ice sheet mass balance for the past two decades. (Updated from Ref 44) (a) Greenland ice sheet; (b) Antarctica ice sheet.

[ Normal View 73K | Magnified View 133K ]

Figure 7.

Compilation of published estimates of glacier and ice cap mass balance (from T. Pfeffer, personal communication; updated by E. Berthier). The horizontal dashed lines represent sea level equivalent values. Black/orange dots refer to in situ/geodetic measurements.

[ Normal View 42K | Magnified View 70K ]

Figure 8.

Detrended global mean sea level between 1993 and 2004; red curve. Land water storage contribution (expressed in sea level equivalent) estimated from the ISBA‐TRIP global hydrological model95; green curve. (Adapted from Ref 94)

[ Normal View 49K | Magnified View 94K ]

Figure 9.

(a) Spatial trend patterns in altimetry‐based sea level over 1993–2009 with respect to the global mean rise (a uniform mean trend of 3.3 mm/year has been removed). (b) Spatial trend patterns in steric sea level over 1993–2009 (data from the WOD09 database down to 700 m34; uniform mean trend removed).

[ Normal View 126K | Magnified View 224K ]

References

1 Lambeck, K, Esat, TM, Potter, EK. Links between climate and sea levels for the past three million years. Nature 2002, 419:199–206.
2 Lambeck, K, Woodroffe, CD, Antonioli, F, Anzidei, M, Gehrels, WD, Laborel, J, Wright, A. %22Paleoenvironmental records, geophysical modelling and reconstruction of sea level trends and variability on centennial and longer time scales.%22 In: Church, JA, et al., eds. Understanding Sea Level Rise and Variability. Wiley‐Blackwell; 2010, 61–105.
3 Kemp, AC, Horton, B, Donnelly, JP, Mann, ME, Vermeer, M, Rahmstorf, S. Climate related sea level variations over the past two millennia. PNAS 2011. doi:10.1073/pnas.1015619108, in press (published online June 2011).
4 Fleming, K, Johnston, P, Zwartz, D, Yokoyama, Y, Lambeck, K, Chappell, J. Refining the eustatic sea level curve since the last glacial maximum using far and intermediate field sites. Earth Planet Sci Lett 1998, 327–342.
5 Milne, G, Gehrels, WR, Hughes, C, Tamisiea, M. Identifying the causes of sea level changes. Nat Geosci 2009, 2:471–478.
6 Miller, KG, Sugarman, PJ, Browning, JV, Horton, BP, Stanley, A, Kahn, A, Uptegrove, J, Aucott, M. Sea level rise in New Jersey over the past 5000 years: implications to anthropogenic changes. Global Planet Change 2009, 66:10–18.
7 Grinsted, A, Moore, J, Jevrejeva, S. Reconstructing sea level from paleo and projected temperatures 200 to 2100 AD. Clim Dyn 2010, 34:461–472. doi:10.1007/s00382‐008‐0507‐2.
8 Lambeck, K, Anzidei, M, Antonioli, F, Benini, A, Esposito, A. Sea level in Roman time in the Central Mediterranean and implications for recent change. Earth Planet Sci Lett 2004, 224:563–575.
9 Gehrels, WR, Kirby, JR, Prokoph, A, Newnham, RM, Achterberg, EP, Eavans, H, Black, S, Scott, D. Onset of recent rapid sea level rise in the western Atlantic Ocean. Quat Sci Rev 2005, 24:2083–2100.
10 Woodworth, PL, Player, R. The permanent service for mean sea level: an update to the 21st century. J Coast Res 2003, 19:287–295.
11 Douglas, BC. %22Sea level change in the era of the recording tide gauge.%22 In: Douglas, BC, Kearney, MS, Leatherman, SP, ed. Sea Level Rise, History and Consequences. San Diego: Academic Press; 2001, 37–64.
12 Peltier, WR. %22Global glacial isostatic adjustment and modern instrumental records of relative sea level history.%22 In: Douglas, BC, Kearney, MS, Leatherman, SP, eds. Sea Level Rise, History and Consequences. Academic Press; 2001, 65–95.
13 Holgate, S. On the decadal rates of sea level change during the twentieth century. Geophys Res Lett 2007, 34:L01602. doi:10.1029/2006GL028492.
14 Jevrejeva, S, Grinsted, A, Moore, JC, Holgate, S. Nonlinear trends and multiyear cycles in sea level records. J Geophys Res 2006, 111:C09012. doi:10.1029/2005/JC003229.
15 Jevrejeva, S, Moore, JC, Grinsted, A, Woodworth, PL. Recent global sea level acceleration started over 200 years ago? Geophys Res Lett 2008, 35:L08715. doi:10.1029/2008GL033611.
16 Church, JA, White, NJ, Coleman, R, Lambeck, K, Mitrovica, JX. Estimates of the regional distribution of sea‐level rise over the 1950 to 2000 period. J Clim 2004, 17:2609–2625.
17 Woppelmann, G, Letetrel, C, Santamaria, A, Bouin, MN, Collilieux, X, Altamimi, Z, Williams, SDP, Miguez, BM. Rates of sea‐level change over the past century in a geocentric reference frame. Geophys Res Lett 2009, 36:3/L12607. doi:10.1029/2009gl038720.
18 Church, JA, White, NJ. Sea‐level rise from the late 19th to the early 21st century. Survey Geophys 2011. doi:10.1007/s10712‐011‐9119‐1 (published online March 30, 2011).
19 Peltier, WR. Closure of the budget of global sea level rise over the GRACE era: the importance and magnitudes of the required corrections for global isostatic adjustment. Quat Sci Rev 2009, 28:1658–1674.
20 Chelton, DB, Ries, JC, Haines, BJ, Fu, LL, Callahan, PS. %22Satellite altimetry.%22 In: Fu, L‐L, Cazenave, A, eds. Satellite Altimetry and Earth Sciences, A Handbook of Techniques and Applications, Vol 69, Int. Geophys. Series. San Diego: Academic Press; 2001, 1–131.
21 Ablain, M, Cazenave, A, Guinehut, S, Valladeau, G. A new assessment of global mean sea level from altimeters highlights a reduction of global slope from 2005 to 2008 in agreement with in‐situ measurement. Ocean Sci 2009, 5:193–201.
22 Mitchum, Gt, Nerem, ST, Merrifieild, MA, Gehrels, WR. %22Modern sea level change estimates.%22 In: Church, J, Woodworth, P, Aarup, T, Wilson, WS, eds. Understanding Sea Level Rise and Variability. Wiley‐Blackwell; 2010, 122–138.
23 Beckley, BD, Zelensky, NP, Holmes, SA, Lemoine, FG, Ray, DR, Mitchum, GT, Desai, SD, Brown, ST. Assessment of the Jason‐2 extension to the TOPEX/Poseidon, Jason‐1 sea surface height time series for global mean sea level monitoring. Marine Geodesy 2010, 33: 447–471.
24 Nerem, RS, Chambers, DP, Choe, C, Mitchum, GT. Estimating mean sea level change from the TOPEX and Jason altimeter missions. Mar Geodesy 2010, 33: 435–446.
25 Church, JA, White, NJ. A 20th century acceleration in global sea‐level rise. Geophys Res Lett 2006, 33:L01602. doi:10.1029/2005GL024826.
26 Merrifield, MA, Merrifield, ST, Mitchum, GT. An anomalous recent acceleration of global sea level rise. J Clim 2009, 22:5772–5781.
27 Lowe, JA, Gregory, JM. Understanding projections of sea level rise in a Hadley Centre coupled climate model. J Geophys Res 2006, 111:C11014. doi:10.1029/2005JC003421.
28 Roemmich, D, Owens, WB. The ARGO project: global ocean observations for understanding for understanding and prediction of climate variability. Oceanography 2000, 13:45–50.
29 Gouretski, V, Koltermann, KP. How much is the ocean really warming? Geophys Res Lett 2007, 34:L011610. doi:10.1029/GL027834.
30 Wijffels, SE, Willis, J, Domingues, CM, Barker, P, White, NJ, Gronell, A, Ridgway, K, Church, JA. Changing expendable bathythermograph fall rates and their impact on estimates of thermosteric sea level rise. J Clim 2008, 21:5657–5672.
31 Lyman, JM, Godd, SA, Gouretski, VV, Ishii, M, Johnson, GC, Palmer, MD, Smith, DM, Willis, JK. Robust warming of the global upper ocean. Nature 2010, 465: 334–337. doi:10.1038/nature09043.
32 Argo Data Management Team. 9th Argo Data Management Meeting Report. 29–31 October 2008. Available at: .
33 Dominguez, C, Church, J, White, N, Glekler, PJ, Wijffels, SE, Barker, PM, Dunn, JR. Improved estimates of upper ocean warming and multidecadal sea level rise. Nature 2008, 453:1090–1093. doi:10.1038/nature07080.
34 Levitus, S, Antonov, JL, Boyer, TP, Locarnini, RA, Garcia, HE, Mishonov, AV. Global Ocean heat content 1955–2008 in light of recently revealed instrumentation. Geophys Res Lett 2009, 36:L07608. doi:10.1029/2008GL037155.
35 Ishii, M, Kimoto, M. Reevaluation of historical ocean heat content variations with varying XBT and MBT depth bias corrections. J Oceanogr 2009, 65: 287–299.
36 Levitus, S, Antonov, JL, Boyer, TP. Warming of the World Ocean, 1955–2003. Geophys Res Lett 2005, 32:L02604. doi:10.1029/2004GL021592.
37 Trenberth, KE, Fasullo, JT, Kiehl, J. Earth`s global energy budget. Bull American Meteor Soc 2009, 90:311–313.
38 Llovel, W, Guinehut, S, Cazenave, A. Regional and interannual variability in sea level over 2002–2009 based on satellite altimetry, Argo float data and GRACE ocean mass. Ocean Dyn 2010, 60: 1193–1204. doi:10.1007/s10236‐010‐0324‐0.
39 Johnson, GC, Purkey, SG, Bullister, JL. Warming and freshening in the abyssal southeastern Indian Ocean. J Clim 2007, 21:5351–5363. doi:10.1175/2008JCLI2384.1.
40 Johnson, GC, Mecking, S, Sloyan, BM, Wijffels, SE. Recent bottom water warming in the Pacific Ocean. J Clim 2007, 20:5365–5375. doi:10.1175/2007JCLI1879.1.
41 Purkey, S, Johnson, GC. Warming of global abyssal and deep southern ocean waters between the 1990s and 2000s: contributions to global heat and sea level rise budgets. J Clim 2010, 23:6336–6351.
42 Kouketsu, S, Doi, T, Kawano, T, Masuda, S, Sugiura, N, Sasaki, Y, Toyoda, T, Igarashi, H, Kawai, Y, Katsumata, K, et al. Deep ocean heat content changes estimated from observation and reanalysis product and their influence on sea level change. J Geophys Res 2011, 116:C03012. doi:10.1029/2010JC006464.
43 Song, YT, Colbert, F. Deep ocean warming assessed from altimeters, Gravity recovery and Climate Experiment, in situ measurements, and a non‐Boussinesq ocean general circulation model. J Geophys Res 2011, 116:C02020. doi:10.1029/2010JC006601.
44 Cazenave, A, Llovel, W. Contemporary sea level rise. Ann Rev Marine Sci 2010, 2:145–173.
45 Church, JA, et al. The Earth`s sea level and energy budgets from 1961 and 2008. Geophys Res Lett 2011, submitted for publication.
46 Wingham, DJ, Shepherd, A, Muir, A, Marshall, GJ. Mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet. Phil Trans R Soc 2006, 364:1627–1635.
47 Shepherd, A, Wingham, D. Recent sea level contributions of the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. Science 2007, 315:1529–1532.
48 Allison, I, Alley, RB, Fricker, HA, Thomas, RH, Warner, RC. Ice sheet mass balance and sea level. Antarctic Sci 2009, 21:413–426.
49 Zwally, HJ, Giovinetto, MB, Li, J, Cornejo, HG, Beckley, MA, Brenner, AC, Saba, JL, Yi, D. Mass changes of the Greenland and Antarctica ice sheets and shelves and contributions to sea level rise: 1992–2002. J Glaciol 2005, 51:509–524.
50 Zwally, HJ, Brenner, AC, Beckley, M, Cornejo, HG, DiMarzio, J, Giovinetto, MB, Neumann, TA, Robbins, J, Saba, JL, Yi, D, et al. Greenland ice sheet mass balance: distribution of increased mass loss with climate warming; 2003–2007 versus 1992–2002. J Glaciol 2011, 57:88–102.
51 Davis, CH, Li, Y, McConnell, JR, Frey, MF, Hanna, E. Snowfall‐driven growth in East Antarctica ice sheet mitigates recent sea level rise. Science 2005, 308: 1898–1907.
52 Slobbe, DC, Ditmar, P, Linderbergh, RC. Estimating the rates of mass change, ice volume change and snow volume change in Greenland from ICESat and GRACE data. Geophys J Int 2009, 176:95–106.
53 Rignot, E, Kanagaratnam, P. Changes in the velocity structure of the Greenland ice sheet. Science 2006, 311:986–990.
54 Rignot, E, Bamber, JL, Van den Broecke, MR, Davis, C, Li, Y, Van de Berg, WJ, Van Meijgaard, E. Recent Antarctic ice mass loss from radar interferometry and regional climate modelling. Nat Geosci 2008, 1: 106–110.
55 Rignot, E, Box, JE, Burgess, E, Hanna, E. Mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet from 1958 to 2007. Geophys Res Lett 2008, 35:L20502. doi:10.1029/2008GL035417.
56 Rignot, E, Velicogna, I, van den Broeke, MR, Monaghan, A, Lenaerts, J. Acceleration of he contribution of the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets to sea level rise. Geophys Res Lett 2011, 38:L05503.
57 Tapley, BD, Bettadpur, S, Watkins, M, Reigber, C. The gravity recovery and climate experiment: mission overview and early results. Geophys Res Lett 2004, 31:L09607. doi:10.1029/2004GL019920.
58 Velicogna, I, Wahr, J. Revised Greenland mass balance from GRACE. Nature 2006, 443:329.
59 Velicogna, I, Wahr, J. Measurements of time‐variable gravity show mass loss in Antarctica. Sciencexpress 2006, doi:10.1126/science.1123785.
60 Ramillien, G, Lombard, A, Cazenave, A, Ivins, E, Llubes, M, Remy, F, Biancale, R. Interannual variations of ice sheets mass balance from GRACE and sea level. Global Planet Change 2006, 53:198–208.
61 Chen, JL, Wilson, CR, Tapley, BD. Satellite gravity measurements confirm accelerated melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Science 2006, 313:1958–1960.
62 Chen, JL, Wilson, CR, Blankenship, DD, Tapley, BD. Antarctic mass change rates from GRACE. Geophys Res Lett 2006, 33:L11502. doi:10.1029./2006GL026369.
63 Lutchke, SB, Zwally, HJ, Abdalati, W, Rowlands, DD, Ray, RD, Nerem, RS, Lemoine, FG, McCarthy, JJ, Chinn, DS. Recent Greenland ice mass loss by drainage system from satellite gravimetry observations. Sciencexpress 2006. doi:10.1126/science.1130776.
64 Chen, JL, Wilson, CR, Blankenship, D, Tapley, BD. Accelerated antarctic ice loss from satellite gravity measurements. Nat Geosci 2009, 2:859–862.
65 Velicogna, I. Increasing rates of ice mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets revealed by GRACE. Geophys Res Lett 2009, 36:L19503. doi:10.1029/2009GL040222.
66 Sorensen, LS, Simonsen, SB, Nielsen, K, Lucas‐Picher, P, Spada, G, Adalgeirsdotti, G, Forsberg, R, Hvidberg, CS. Mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet (2003–2008) from ICESat data, the impact of interpolation, sampling and firn density. Cryosphere 2011, 5:173–186.
67 Jiang, Y, Dixon, TH, Wdowinski, S. Accelerating uplift in the North Atlantic region as an indicator of ice loss. Nat Geosci 2010, 3:404–407.
68 Zwally, HJ, Beckley, MA, Brenner, AC, Giovinetto, MB. Motion of major ice‐shelf fronts in Antarctica from slant‐range analysis of radar altimeter data, 1978–98. Ann Glaciol 2002, 34:255–262.
69 Alley, R, Spencer Anandakrishnan, S. Ice sheet mass balance, assessment, attribution and prognosis. Ann Glaciol 2007, 46:1–7.
70 Alley, R, Fahnestock, M, Joughin, I. Understanding glacier flow in changing time. Science 2008, 322: 1061–1062.
71 Holland, D, Thomas, RH, De Young, B, Ribergaard, MH, Lyberth, B. Acceleration of Jakobshawn Isbrae triggered by warm subsurface ocean waters. Nat Geosci 2008, 1:659–664. doi:10.1038/ngeo316.
72 Scott, JBT, Gudmundsson, GH, Smith, AM, Bingham, RG, Pritchard, HD, Vaughan, DG. Increased rate of acceleration on Pine Island Glacier strongly coupled to changes in gravitational driving stress. Cryosphere 2009, 3:125–131.
73 Fischer, A. Comparison of direct and geodetic mass balances on a multi‐annual time scale. Cryosphere 2011, 5:107–124.
74 Lemke, P, et al. %22Observations : changes in snow, ice and frozen ground.%22 In: Solomon, S, Qin, D, Manning, M, Chen, Z, Marquis, M, Averyt, KB, Tignor, M, Miller, HL, eds. Climate change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergouvernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press; 2007.
75 Chen, JL, Tapley, BD, Wilson, CR. Alaskan mountain glacial melting observed by satellite gravimetry. Earth Planet Sci Lett 2006, 248:368–378.
76 Chen, JL, Wilson, CR, Tapley, BD, Blankenship, DD, Ivins, ER. Patagonia icefield melting observed by gravity recovery and climate experiment (GRACE). Geophys Res Lett 2007, 34:L22501. doi:10.1029/2007GL031871.
77 Luthcke, SB, Arendt, A, Rowlands, DD, McCarthy, JJ, Larsen, CF. Recent glacier mass changes in the Gulf of Alaska region from GRACE mascon solutions. J Glaciol 2008, 54:767–777.
78 Matsuo, K, Heki, K. Time variable ice loss in Asian high mountains from satellite gravimetry. Earth Planet Sci Lett 2010, 290:30–36.
79 Berthier, E, Schiefer, E, Clarke, GKC, Menounos, B, Remy, F. Contribution of Alaskan glaciers to sea‐level rise derived from satellite imagery. Nat Geosci 2010, 3: 92–95.
80 Kaser, G, Cogley, JG, Dyurgerov, MB, Meier, MF, Ohmura, A. Mass balance of glaciers and ice caps: consensus estimates fpr 1961–2004. Geophys Res Lett 2006, 33:L19501. doi:10.1029/2006GL027511.
81 Meier, MF, Dyurgerov, MB, Rick, UK, O`Neel, S, Pfeffer, WT, Anderson, RS, Anderson, SP, Glazovsky, AF. Glaciers dominate Eustatic sea‐level rise in the 21st century. Science 2007, 317:1064–1067.
82 Cogley, JC. Geodetic and direct mass balance measurements: comparison and joint analysis. Ann Glaciol 2009, 50:96–100.
83 Paul, F. The influence of changes in glacier extent and surface elevation on modeled mass balance. Cryosphere 2010, 4:569–581.
84 Milly, PCD, Cazenave, A, Gennero, MC. Contribution of climate‐driven change in continental water storage to recent sea‐level rise. Proc Natl Acad Sci 2003, 100: 13158–13161.
85 Ngo‐Duc, T, Laval, K, Polcher, Y, Lombard, A, Cazenave, A. Effects of land water storage on the global mean sea level over the last half century. Geophys Res Lett 2005, 32:L09704. doi:10.1029/2005GL022719.
86 Ramillien, G, Bouhours, S, Lombard, A, Cazenave, A, Flechtner, F, Schmidt, R. Land water contributions from GRACE to sea level rise over 2002–2006. Glob Planet Change 2008, 60:381–392.
87 Llovel, W, Dominh, K, Cazenave, A, Cretaux, JF. Land waters contribution to sea level from GRACE and satellite altimetry. CR Geosci 2010, 342:179–188.
88 Biancamaria, S, Cazenave, A, Mognard, N, Llovel, W, Frappart, F. Satellite‐based high latitudes. Global Planet Change 2011, 75:99–107. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha2010.10.011.
89 Huntington, TG. Can we dismiss the effect of changes in land water storage on sea level rise. Hydrol Process 2008, 22:717–723.
90 Milly, PCD, Cazenave, A, Famiglietti, J, Gornitz, V, Laval, K, Lettenmaier, D, Sahagian, D, Wahr, J, Wilson, C. %22Terrestrial water storage contributions to sea level rise and variability.%22 In: Church, J, Woodworth, P, Aarup, T, Wilson, WS, eds. Understanding Sea Level Rise and Variability. Wiley‐Blackwell; 2010, 226–249.
91 Chao, BF, Wu, YH, Li, YS. Impact of artificial reservoir water impoundment on global sea level. Science 2008, 320:212–214. doi:10.1126/science.1154580.
92 Lettenmaier, D, Milly, C. Landwaters and sea level. Nat Geosci 2009, 2:452–454.
93 Wada, Y, van Beek, LPH, van Kempen, CM, Reckman, JWT, Vasak, S, Bierkens, MFP. Global depletion of groundwater resources. Geophys Res Lett 2010, 37:L204402. doi:10.1029/2010GL044571.
94 Llovel, W, Becker, M, Cazenave, A, Jevrejeva, S, Alkama, R, Decharme, B, Douville, H, Ablain, M, Beckley, B. Terrestrial waters and sea level variations on interannual time scale. Global Planet Change 2011, 75:76–82. doi:10.1016/j.gloplacha.2010.10.008.
95 Decharme, B, Alkama, R, Douville, H, Becker, M, Cazenave, A. Global evaluation of the ISBA‐TRIP continental hydrological system. Part II: uncertainties in river routing simulation related to flow velocity and groundwater storage. J Hydrometeorol 2010, 11: 601–617.
96 Chambers, DP, Wahr, J, Nerem, RS. Preliminary observations of global ocean mass variations with GRACE. Geophys Res Lett 2004, 31:L13310. doi:10.1029/2004GL020461.
97 Chambers, DP. Evaluation of New GRACE time‐variable gravity data over the ocean. Geophys Res Lett 2006, 33:LI7603.
98 Willis, JK, Chambers, DT, Nerem, RS. Assessing the globally averaged sea level budget on seasonal to interannual time scales. J Geophys Res 2008, 113:C06015. doi:10.1029/2007JC004517.
99 Cazenave, A, Dominh, K, Guinehut, S, Berthier, E, Llovel, W, Ramillien, G, Ablain, M, Larnicol, G. Sea level budget over 2003–2008 : a reevaluation from GRACE space gravimetry, satellite altimetry and Argo. Global Planet Change 2009, 65:83–88. doi:10.1016/j/gloplacha.2008.10.004.
100 Leuliette, E, Miller, L. Closing the sea level rise budget with altimetry, Argo and GRACE. Geophys Res Lett 2009, 36:L04608. doi:10.1029/2008GL036010.
101 Paulson, A, Zhong, S, Wahr, J. Inference of mantle viscosity from GRACE and relative sea level data. Geophys J Int 2007, 171:497–508.
102 Chambers, DP, Wahr, J, Tamisiea, ME, Nerem, RS. Ocean mass from GRACE and glacial isostatic adjustment. J Geophys Res—Solid Earth 2010, 115.
103 Bindoff, N, Willebrand, J, Artale, V, Cazenave, A, Gregory, J, Gulev, S, Hanawa, K, Le Quéré, C, Levitus, S, Nojiri, Y, et al. %22Observations: oceanic climate and sea level.%22 In: Solomon, S, Qin, D, Manning, M, Chen, Z, Marquis, M, Averyt, KB, Tignor, M, Miller, HL, eds. Climate change 2007: The physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergouvernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, and New York: Cambridge University Press; 2007.
104 Wunsch, C, Ponte, RM, Heimbach, P. Decadal trends in sea level patterns: 1993–2004. J Clim 2007, 20:5889–5911. doi:10.1175/2007JCLI1840.1.
105 Kohl, A, Stammer, DT. Decadal sea level changes in the 50‐year GECCO ocean synthesis. J Clim 2008, 21:1876–1890.
106 Lombard, A, Garric, G, Penduff, T, Molines, JM. Regional variability of sea level change using a global ocean model at 1//4° resolution. Ocean Dyn 2009, doi:10.1007/s10236‐009‐0161‐6.
107 Qiu, B, Chen, S. Decadal variability in the larghe‐scale sea surface height field of the south Pacific ocean: observations and causes. J Phys Ocean 2006, 36: 1751–1762.
108 Timmermann, A, McGregor, S, Jin, F. Wind effects on past and future regional sea level trends in the Southern Indo‐Pacific. J Clim 2010, 23:4429–4437.
109 Merrifield, M, Maltrud, ME. Regional sea level trends due to Pacific trade wind intensification. Geophys Res Lett 2011, submitted.
110 Mitrovica, JX, Tamisiea, MEJL, Davis, JL, Milne, GA. Recent mass balance of polar ice sheets inferred from patterns of global sea‐level change. Nature 2001, 409:1026–1029.
111 Mitrovica, JX, Gomez, N, Clark, PU. The sea‐level fingerprint of West Antarctic collapse. Science 2009, 323:753.
112 Stammer, D. Response of the global ocean to Greenland and Antarctica melting. J Geophys Res 2008, 113:C06022. doi:10.1029/2006JC001079.
113 Lombard, A, Cazenave, A, Le Traon, PY, Ishii, M. Contribution of thermal expansion to present‐day sea level rise revisited. Global Planet Change 2005, 47:1–16.
114 Carton, J, Giese, B. A reanalysis of ocean climate using Simple Ocean Data Assimilation (SODA). Mon Weather Rev 2008, 136:2999–3017.
115 Llovel, W, Cazenave, A, Rogel, P, Berge‐Nguyen, M. 2‐D reconstruction of past sea level (1950–2003) using tide gauge records and spatial patterns from a general ocean circulation model. Clim Past 2009, 5:1–11.
116 Meyssignac, B, Becker, M, Llovel, W, Cazenave, A. Assessment of two‐dimensional past sea level reconstructions over 1950–2009 from tide gauges and different input sea level grids. Surv Geophys 2011, submitted for publication.
117 Behera, S, Yamagata, T. Imprint of the El Nino Modoki on decadal sea level changes. Geohys Res Lett 2010, 37:L23702. doi:10.1029/2010GL045936.
118 Meehl, et al. %22Global Climate Projections.%22 In: Solomon, S, Qin, D, Manning, M, Chen, Z, Marquis, M, Averyt, KB, Tignor, M, Miller, HL, eds. Climate change 2007: The physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment report of the Intergouvernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press; 2007.
119 Radic, V, Hock, R. Regional and global volumes of glaciers derived from statistical upscaling of glacier inventory data. J Geophys Res 2010, 115: doi:10.1029/2009jf001373.
120 Radic, V, Hock, R. Regionally differentiated contribution of mountain glaciers and ice caps to future sea‐level rise. Nature Geosci 2011, 4:91–94.
121 Pfeffer, WT, Harper, JT, O`Neel, S. Kinematic constraints on glacier contributions to 21st‐century sea level rise. Science 2008, 321:1340–1343.
122 Bahr, DB, Dyurgerov, M, Meier, MF. Sea level rise from glaciers and ice caps: a lower bound. Geophys Res Lett 2009, 36:L03501. doi:10.1029/2008GL036309.
123 Fettweis, X, Hanna, E, Gallee, H, Huybrechts, P, Erpicum, M. Estimation of the Greenland ice sheet surface mass balance for the 20th and 21st centuries. Cryosphere 2008, 2:117–129.
124 Krinner, G, Guicherd, B, Ox, K, Genthon, C, Magand, O. Influence of oceanic boundary conditions in simulations of Antarctic climate and surface mass balance change during the coming century. J Clim 2008, 21:938–962.
125 Genthon, C, Krinner, G, Castebrunet, H. Antarctic precipitation and climate‐change predictions: horizontal resolution and margin vs plateau issues. Ann Glaciol 2009, 50:55–60.
126 Landerer, FW, Jungclaus, JH, Marotzke, J. Regional dynamic and steric sea level change in response to the IPCC‐A1B scenario. J Phys Ocean 2007, 37:296–311.
127 Yin, J, Griffies, SM, Stouffer, RJ. Spatial variability of sea level rise in the twenty‐first century projections. J Clim 2010, 23:4585–4607.
128 Pardaens, AK, Gregory, JM, Lowe, JA. model study of factors influencing projected changes in regional sea level over the twenty‐first century. Clim Dyn 2011, 36:2015–2033. doi:10.1007/s00382‐009‐0738‐x.
129 Suzuki, T, Ishii, M. Regional distribution of sea level changes resulting from enhanced greenhouse warming in the Model for Interdisciplinary Research on Climate version 3.2. Geophys Res Lett 2011, 38:L02601. doi:10.1029/2010GL045693.
130 Slangen, ABA, Katsman, CA, van de Val, RSW, Vermeersen, LLA, Riva, REM. Towards regional projections of twenty‐first century sea level change based on IPCC SRES scenarios. Clim Dyn 2011, doi:10.1007/s00382‐011‐1057‐6.
131 Nicholls, RJ. %22Impacts of and responses to sea level rise.%22 In: Church, J, Woodworth, P, Aarup ans, T, Wilson, WS, eds. ‘Understanding Sea Level Rise and Variability’. Wiley‐Blackwell; 2010, 17–43.
132 Nicholls, R, Cazenave, A. Sea level change and the impacts in coastal zones. Science 2010, 328: 1517–1520.

blog comments powered by Disqus

Society Partners

	Royal Geographical Society (with IBG)
	Royal Meteorological Society

Access to this WIREs title is by subscription only.

Recommend to Your
Librarian Now!

Article Title	Sea level and climate: measurements and causes of changes
* Name
* E-mail
* Note

Sea level and climate: measurements and causes of changes

Society Partners

Access to this WIREs title is by subscription only.

The latest WIREs articles in your inbox

Twitter: WIREs_Climate Follow us on Twitter

Sea level and climate: measurements and causes of changes

Related Articles

Browse by Topic

Society Partners

Access to this WIREs title is by subscription only.

The latest WIREs articles in your inbox

Twitter: WIREs_Climate Follow us on Twitter