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Sea Level Measurement

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Measurement for the Sea

Part of the book series: Springer Series in Measurement Science and Technology ((SSMST))

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Abstract

A sea height for whom, for what? This question finds several answers in wide multidisciplinary scientific domains varying from in situ measurements to spatial altimetry and fields of studies linked mainly via oceanology and metrology. A water height is first an instantaneous measurement that feeds into the knowledge and calculation of sea level change, mean, lowest and highest, sea levels, tide amplitude and phase. These are all water level definitions that do not figure the same physical content. The definition of these levels can vary substantially depending on the purpose of the study. For this reason, several international organizations (IHO, GLOSS, and SONEL) aim to provide recommendations on some key definitions related to water levels. From former measurements to current observations, techniques evolved and constantly question the quality and the continuity of data. The large family of sensors measuring water level is populated by tide gauges, GNSS and radar altimeters onboard a satellite that provide a global geographical coverage and complement fixed-point observation.

Seawater height measurement structures the profile of important issues for the knowledge of marine environment. It is one of the essential ocean variables impacting and driving studies in ocean currents, climate change, engineering for the design of coastal installations and a large community engaged in operational oceanography. Its measurement and surface signature are a keystone in the calibration and validation of altimeters, coastal marine environment and ocean dynamic forecast and hindcast systems. Even further downstream in the field of applications, this ocean variable is a part of sustainable coastal economic activities, including applications in marine renewable energy. In this challenging frame, collected sea level data needed to be referenced in time and space (x, y, z, t), so that it is crucial to control the measurement and ensure the consistency of its monitoring.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    DORIS beacons emit 2 frequencies. An on-board captor measures the Doppler shift between the signals to determine the distance between the satellite and the ground beacon.

  2. 2.

    GRACE mission measures the distance between the two satellites and allows estimation of Earth masses distribution, every month at 300 km wavelength resolution.

  3. 3.

    Barbier P., Edito 2010 August, Afnor Bivi Metrology

  4. 4.

    Radar altimeter delay and disturbances due to ionosphere (range error O [10-2]); dry and wet troposphere (respectively, with an average error budget of 7 10−2 m; 10−2 to 10−1 m); internal drift in the oscillator frequency (range error O [10-2]); land points perturbation with recent improvements in data post-treatments giving now access to SSH up to 3 km from the coast [23].

  5. 5.

    1835: a first demonstration of a tide gauges network, deployed on the coasts of the USA, Spain, Portugal, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Norway, England, Scotland, Ireland and France.

  6. 6.

    https://www.psmsl.org/; https://www.gloss-sealevel.org/; http://www.ioc-sealevelmonitoring.org/; http://uhslc.soest.hawaii.edu/; https://www.bodc.ac.uk/; https://www.sonel.org

Abbreviations

IOC:

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (UNESCO)

GLOSS:

Global Sea Level Observing System

GNSS:

Global Navigation Satellite System

MSL:

Mean sea level

SLA:

Sea level anomaly

SSH:

Sea surface height

Rms:

Root mean square

LAT:

Lowest astronomical tide

HAT:

Highest astronomical tide

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Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments to R. Morrow (Legos) for SWOT mission description, M. Drevillon (Mercator Océan) for introducing Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Gwenaële Jan*(§10.1, 10.3, 10.4, 10.5, 10.6), Begoña Pérez Gómez (§10.3, 10.4, 10.5), Corinne Salaün (10.§2), Didier Rouxel (§10.2), Nicolas Pouvreau (§10.5, 10.6), Yann Ferret (§ 10.5,10.6), Alexa Latapy (§10.6).

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Shom, Brest, France

    Gwenaële Jan, Corinne Salaün, Didier Rouxel, Nicolas Pouvreau, Yann Ferret & Alexa Latapy

  2. Puertos del Estado, Madrid, Spain

    Begoña Pérez Gómez

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Correspondence to Gwenaële Jan .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Engineering, University of Sannio, Benevento, Italy

    Pasquale Daponte

  2. Department of Mechanical, Energy, Management and Transportation Engineering, Università degli Studi di Genova, Genoa, Italy

    Giovanni Battista Rossi

  3. Department of Science and Technology, Parthenope University of Naples, Naples, Italy

    Vincenzo Piscopo

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Jan, G. et al. (2022). Sea Level Measurement. In: Daponte, P., Rossi, G.B., Piscopo, V. (eds) Measurement for the Sea. Springer Series in Measurement Science and Technology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-82024-4_10

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