scholarly journals Effects of the basin dynamics on sea level rise in the Black Sea

2016 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. A. Kubryakov ◽  
S. V. Stanichny ◽  
D. L. Volkov

Abstract. Satellite altimetry measurements show that magnitude of the Black Sea level trends is spatially uneven. While the basin-averaged sea level was increasing at a rate of 3.15 mm/year from 1993 to 2014, the sea level rise varied from 0.15–2.5 mm/year in the central part to 3.5–3.8 mm/year in coastal areas and 5 mm/year in the southwestern part of the sea. These differences are caused by changes in the large- and mesoscale circulation of the Black Sea. A long-term increase of the cyclonic wind curl over the basin from 1979 to 2014 strengthened divergence in the center of the Black Sea that led to an increase of sea level near the coast and a decrease in the center of the basin. Changes in the distribution and intensity of mesoscale eddies caused the formation of the local extremes of sea level trend. The variability of the dynamic sea level (DSL) – the difference between the local and the basin-averaged sea levels – contributes significantly (up to ~ 50 % of the total variance) to the seasonal and interannual variability of sea level in the basin. The DSL variability in the Black Sea depends strongly on the basin-averaged wind curl and is well reconstructed using the ERA-Interim winds from 1979 to present, including the time when altimetry data was unavailable. The reconstruction can be used to correct historical tide gauges data for dynamic effects, which are usually neglected in the analysis of the Black Sea tide gauge records.

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 277 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suresh Palanisamy Vadivel ◽  
Duk-jin Kim ◽  
Jungkyo Jung ◽  
Yang-Ki Cho ◽  
Ki-Jong Han ◽  
...  

Vertical land motion at tide gauges influences sea level rise acceleration; this must be addressed for interpreting reliable sea level projections. In recent years, tide gauge records for the Eastern coast of Korea have revealed rapid increases in sea level rise compared with the global mean. Pohang Tide Gauge Station has shown a +3.1 cm/year sea level rise since 2013. This study aims to estimate the vertical land motion that influences relative sea level rise observations at Pohang by applying a multi-track Persistent Scatter Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (PS-InSAR) time-series analysis to Sentinel-1 SAR data acquired during 2015–2017. The results, which were obtained at a high spatial resolution (10 m), indicate vertical ground motion of −2.55 cm/year at the Pohang Tide Gauge Station; this was validated by data from a collocated global positioning system (GPS) station. The subtraction of InSAR-derived subsidence rates from sea level rise at the Pohang Tide Gauge Station is 6 mm/year; thus, vertical land motion significantly dominates the sea level acceleration. Natural hazards related to the sea level rise are primarily assessed by relative sea level changes obtained from tide gauges; therefore, tide gauge records should be reviewed for rapid vertical land motion along the vulnerable coastal areas.


2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nevin Avşar ◽  
Şenol Kutoğlu

Global mean sea level has been rising at an increasing rate, especially since the early 19th century in response to ocean thermal expansion and ice sheet melting. The possible consequences of sea level rise pose a significant threat to coastal cities, inhabitants, infrastructure, wetlands, ecosystems, and beaches. Sea level changes are not geographically uniform. This study focuses on present-day sea level changes in the Black Sea using satellite altimetry and tide gauge data. The multi-mission gridded satellite altimetry data from January 1993 to May 2017 indicated a mean rate of sea level rise of 2.5 ± 0.5 mm/year over the entire Black Sea. However, when considering the dominant cycles of the Black Sea level time series, an apparent (significant) variation was seen until 2014, and the rise in the mean sea level has been estimated at about 3.2 ± 0.6 mm/year. Coastal sea level, which was assessed using the available data from 12 tide gauge stations, has generally risen (except for the Bourgas Station). For instance, from the western coast to the southern coast of the Black Sea, in Constantza, Sevastopol, Tuapse, Batumi, Trabzon, Amasra, Sile, and Igneada, the relative rise was 3.02, 1.56, 2.92, 3.52, 2.33, 3.43, 5.03, and 6.94 mm/year, respectively, for varying periods over 1922–2014. The highest and lowest rises in the mean level of the Black Sea were in Poti (7.01 mm/year) and in Varna (1.53 mm/year), respectively. Measurements from six Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) stations, which are very close to the tide gauges, also suggest that there were significant vertical land movements at some tide gauge locations. This study confirmed that according to the obtained average annual phase value of sea level observations, seasonal sea level variations in the Black Sea reach their maximum annual amplitude in May–June.


Ocean Science ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 443-452 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arseny A. Kubryakov ◽  
Sergey V. Stanichny ◽  
Denis L. Volkov

Abstract. Satellite altimetry measurements show that the magnitude of the Black Sea sea level trends is spatially uneven. While the basin-mean sea level rise from 1993 to 2014 was about 3.15 mm yr−1, the local rates of sea level rise varied from 1.5–2.5 mm yr−1 in the central part to 3.5–3.8 mm yr−1 at the basin periphery and over the northwestern shelf and to 5 mm yr−1 in the southeastern part of the sea. We show that the observed spatial differences in the dynamic sea level (anomaly relative to the basin-mean) are caused by changes in the large- and mesoscale dynamics of the Black Sea. First, a long-term intensification of the cyclonic wind curl over the Black Sea, observed in 1993–2014, strengthened divergence in the center of the basin and led to the rise of the sea level in coastal and shelf areas and a lowering in the basin's interior. Second, an extension of the Batumi anticyclone to the west resulted in  ∼  1.2 mm yr−1 higher rates of sea level rise in the southeastern part of the sea. Further, we demonstrate that the large-scale dynamic sea level variability in the Black Sea can be successfully reconstructed using the wind curl obtained from an atmospheric reanalysis. This allows for the correction of historical tide gauge records for dynamic effects in order to derive more accurate estimates of the basin-mean sea level change in the past, prior to the satellite altimetry era.


Ocean Science ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 617-628 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. H. Luu ◽  
P. Tkalich ◽  
T. W. Tay

Abstract. Sea level rise due to climate change is non-uniform globally, necessitating regional estimates. Peninsular Malaysia is located in the middle of Southeast Asia, bounded from the west by the Malacca Strait, from the east by the South China Sea (SCS), and from the south by the Singapore Strait. The sea level along the peninsula may be influenced by various regional phenomena native to the adjacent parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans. To examine the variability and trend of sea level around the peninsula, tide gauge records and satellite altimetry are analyzed taking into account vertical land movements (VLMs). At annual scale, sea level anomalies (SLAs) around Peninsular Malaysia on the order of 5–25 cm are mainly monsoon driven. Sea levels at eastern and western coasts respond differently to the Asian monsoon: two peaks per year in the Malacca Strait due to South Asian–Indian monsoon; an annual cycle in the remaining region mostly due to the East Asian–western Pacific monsoon. At interannual scale, regional sea level variability in the range of ±6 cm is correlated with El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO). SLAs in the Malacca Strait side are further correlated with the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) in the range of ±5 cm. Interannual regional sea level falls are associated with El Niño events and positive phases of IOD, whilst rises are correlated with La Niña episodes and negative values of the IOD index. At seasonal to interannual scales, we observe the separation of the sea level patterns in the Singapore Strait, between the Raffles Lighthouse and Tanjong Pagar tide stations, likely caused by a dynamic constriction in the narrowest part. During the observation period 1986–2013, average relative rates of sea level rise derived from tide gauges in Malacca Strait and along the east coast of the peninsula are 3.6±1.6 and 3.7±1.1 mm yr−1, respectively. Correcting for respective VLMs (0.8±2.6 and 0.9±2.2 mm yr−1), their corresponding geocentric sea level rise rates are estimated at 4.4±3.1 and 4.6±2.5 mm yr−1. The geocentric rates are about 25 % faster than those measured at tide gauges around the peninsula; however, the level of uncertainty associated with VLM data is relatively high. For the common period between 1993 and 2009, geocentric sea level rise values along the Malaysian coast are similar from tide gauge records and satellite altimetry (3.1 and 2.7 mm yr−1, respectively), and arguably correspond to the global trend.


Eos ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leah Crane

Tide gauges can help measure sea level change, but their limited locations and short records make it hard to pinpoint trends. Now researchers are evaluating the instruments' limitations.


Author(s):  
N. B. Avsar ◽  
S. H. Kutoglu ◽  
S. Jin ◽  
B. Erol

In this study, we focus on sea level changes along the Black Sea coast. For this purpose, at same observation period the linear trends and the components of seasonal variations of sea level change are estimated at 12 tide gauge sites (Amasra, Igneada, Trabzon-II, Sinop, Sile, Poti, Batumi, Sevastopol, Tuapse, Varna, Bourgas, and Constantza) located along the Black Sea coast and available altimetric grid points closest to the tide gauge locations. The consistency of the results derived from both observations are investigated and interpreted. Furthermore, in order to compare the trends at the same location, it is interpolated from the trends obtained at the altimetric grid points in the defined neighbouring area with a diameter of 0.125° using a weighted average interpolation algorithm at each tide gauge site. For some tide gauges such as Sevastopol, Varna, and Bourgas, it is very likely that the trend estimates are not reliable because the time-spans overlapping the altimeter period are too short. At Sile, the long-term change for the time series of both data types do not give statistically significant linear rates. However, when the sites have long-term records, a general agreement between the satellite altimetry and tide gauge time series is observed at Poti (~20 years) and Tuapse (~18 years). On the other hand, the difference of annual phase between satellite altimetry and tide gauge results is from 1.32° to 71.48°.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-15
Author(s):  
Alberto Boretti

Abstract The paper provides an estimate of the latest relative and absolute rates of rise and accelerations of the sea levels for the East Coast of North America. The computation is based on the long-term trend (LTT) tide gauge records of the relative sea levels and the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) time series of the absolute position of fixed dome nearby the tide gauges. The GNSS result is used to infer the subsidence or uplift of the tide gauge instrument. The data of 33 LTT tide stations with more than 80 years of data are shown. The average relative sea-level rise is +2.22 mm/yr. subjected to a small, positive average acceleration of +0.0027 mm/yr2. The average absolute velocity of the tide gauge instruments is −0.52 mm/yr. translating in an average absolute sea-level rise of +1.70 mm/yr. This is the first paper publishing a comprehensive survey of the absolute sea-level rates of rise along the East Coast of North America using the reliable information of relative sea-level rates of rise from LTT tide gauges, plus the absolute subsidence rates from GNSS antennas that are close to the tide gauges installations.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan D. Restrepo-Ángel ◽  
Héctor Mora-Páez ◽  
Freddy Díaz ◽  
Marin Govorcin ◽  
Shimon Wdowinski ◽  
...  

AbstractCartagena is subsiding at a higher rate compared to that of global climate-driven sea level rise. We investigate the relative sea level rise (RSLR) and the influence of vertical land movements in Cartagena through the integration of different datasets, including tide gauge records, GPS geodetic subsidence data, and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) observations of vertical motions. Results reveal a long-term rate (> 60 years) of RSLR of 5.98 ± 0.01 mm/yr. The last two decades exhibited an even greater rate of RSLR of 7.02 ± 0.06 mm/yr. GPS subsidence rates range between − 5.71 ± 2.18 and − 2.85 ± 0.84 mm/yr. InSAR data for the 2014–2020 period show cumulative subsidence rates of up to 72.3 mm. We find that geologically induced vertical motions represent 41% of the observed changes in RSLR and that subsidence poses a major threat to Cartagena’s preservation. The geodetic subsidence rates found would imply a further additional RSLR of 83 mm by 2050 and 225 mm by 2100. The Colombian government should plan for the future and serve as an example to similar cities across the Caribbean.


2016 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Albert Parker

AbstractThe tide gauges measure the local oscillations of the sea level vs. the tide gauge instrument. The tide gauge instrument is generally subjected to the general subsidence or uplift of the nearby inland, plus some additional subsidence for land compaction and other localised phenomena. The paper proposes a non-linear model of the relative sea level oscillations including a long term trend for the absolute sea level rise, another term for the subsidence of the instrument, and finally a sinusoidal approximation for the cyclic oscillations of periodicities up to decades. This non-linear model is applied to the tide gauges of China. The paper shows that the limited information available for China does not permit to infer any proper trend for the relative rates of rise, as the tide gauge records are all short or incomplete and the vertical movement of the tide gauge instruments is unassessed. The only tide gauge record of sufficient length that may be assembled for China is obtained by combining the North Point and Quarry Bay tide gauges in Hong Kong (NPQB). This NQPB composite tide gauge record is shown to have similarities with the tide gauge records of Sydney, equally in the West pacific, and San Diego, in the east Pacific, oscillating about the longer term trend mostly determined by the local subsidence. As it is very well known that China generally suffers of land subsidence, and the tide gauge installations may suffer of additional subsidence vs. the inland, it may be concluded from the analysis of the other worldwide tide gauges that the sea levels of China are very likely rising about the same amount of the subsidence of the tide gauges, with the sea level acceleration component still negligible.


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