Abstract
We estimate seasonal global mean sea level changes using different data resources, including sea level anomalies from satellite radar altimetry, ocean temperature and salinity from the World Ocean Atlas 2001, time-variable gravity observations from the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) mission, and terrestrial water storage and atmospheric water vapor changes from the NASA global land data assimilation system and National Centers for Environmental Prediction reanalysis atmospheric model. The results from all estimates are consistent in amplitude and phase at the annual period, in some cases with remarkably good agreement. The results provide a good measure of average annual variation of water stored within atmospheric, land, and ocean reservoirs. We examine how varied treatments of degree-2 and degree-1 spherical harmonics from GRACE, laser ranging, and Earth rotation variations affect GRACE mean sea level change estimates. We also show that correcting the standard equilibrium ocean pole tide correction for mass conservation is needed when using satellite altimeter data in global mean sea level studies. These encouraging results indicate that is reasonable to consider estimating longer-term time series of water storage in these reservoirs, as a way of tracking climate change.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Bettadpur S (2003) Level-2 gravity field product user handbook, The GRACE Project
Cabanes C, Cazenave A, Le Provost C (2001) Sea level rise during past 40 Years determined from satellite and in situ observations. Science 294(5543):840–842
Cazenave A, Remy F, Dominh K, Douville H (2000) Global ocean mass variation, continental hydrology and the mass balance of Antarctica ice sheet at seasonal time scale. Geophys Res Lett 27(22):3755–3758 (doi:10.1029/2000GL006119)
Chambers DP, Wahr J, Nerem RS (2004) Preliminary observations of global ocean mass variations with GRACE. Geophys Res Lett 31:L13310 (doi:10.1029/2004GL020461)
Chen JL, Wilson CR, Chambers DP, Nerem RS, Tapley BD (1998) Seasonal global water mass budget and mean sea level variations. Geophy Res Lett 25(19):3555–3558
Chen JL, Wilson CR, Eanes RJ, Nerem RS (1999) Geophysical interpretation of observed geocenter variations. J Geophy Res 104(B2):2683–2690
Chen JL, Shum CK, Wilson CR, Chambers DP, Tapley BD (2000) Seasonal sea level change from TOPEX/Poseidon observation and thermal contribution. J Geodesy 73:638–647
Chen JL, Wilson CR, Tapley BD, Chambers DP, Pekker T (2002a) Hydrological impacts on seasonal sea level change. Glob Planet Change 32(1):25–32
Chen JL, Wilson CR, Tapley BD, Pekker T (2002b) Contributions of hydrological processes to sea level change. Phys Chem Earth 27:1439–1443
Chen JL, Wilson CR (2003) Low degree gravitational changes from earth rotation and geophysical models. Geophy Res Lett 30(24):2257–2260
Chen JL, Wilson CR, Tapley BD, Ries J (2004) Low degree gravitational changes from GRACE: validation and interpretation. Geophys Res Lett 31(22):L22607 (doi:10.1029/2004GL021670)
Chen JL, Rodell M, Wilson CR, Famiglietti JS (2005) Low degree spherical harmonic influences on GRACE water storage estimates. Geophys Res Lett (in press)
Cheng MK, Tapley BD (2002) Temporal variations in the Earth’s gravity field from SLR and CHAMP GPS data. In: Tziavos IN (ed) Gravity and Geoid 2002. Proceedings of the International Gravity and Geoid Commision, Thessaloniki, Greece, pp 424–431
Douglas BC, Cheney RE, Miller L, Carter WE, and Robertson DS (1990) Greenland ice sheet; is it growing or shrinking? Science 248:288
Douglas BC (1995) Global sea level change: determination and interpretation, U.S. National Report to IUGG, 1991–1994, Rev Geophys 33(Suppl)
Ek MB, Mitchell KE, Lin Y, Rogers E, Grunmann P, Koren V, Gayno G, Tarpley JD (2003) Implementation of the upgraded Noah land-surface model in the NCEP operational mesoscale Eta model. J Geophys Res 108:8851 (doi:10.1029/2002JD003296)
Fofonoff P, Millard RC Jr (1983) Algorithms for computation of fundamental properties of seawater. UNESCO Tech Pap in Mar Sci 44:53
Gill AE (1982) Atmosphere-ocean dynamics. Academic Press, New York
Jekeli C (1981) Alternative methods to smooth the Earth’s gravity field, Department of Geodetic Science and Surveying. Ohio State University, Columbus, OH
Kalnay E et al (1996) The NCEP/NCAR 40-year reanalysis project. Bull Am Meteor Soc 77:437–471
Lambeck K (1988) Geophysical geodesy. Clarenden Press, Oxford
Milly PCD, Cazenave A, Gennero MC (2003) Contribution of climate-driven change in continental water storage to recent sea-level rise. Proc Nat Acad Sci USA 100(23):13158–13161
Minster JF, Cazenave A, Serafini YV, Mercier F, Gennero MC, Rogel P (1999) Annual cycle in mean sea level from TOPEX-Poseidon and ERS-1: inference on the global hydrological cycle. Glob Planet Change 20:57–66
Nerem RS, Mitchum GT (2001) Observation of sea level change from satellite altimetry. In: Douglas et al (eds) Sea level rise. Academic Press, San Diego
Peltier WR, Tushingham AM (1989) Global sea level rise and the greenhouse effect: might they be connected? Science 244(4906):806–810
Rodell M, Houser PR, Jambor U, Gottschalck J, Mitchell K, Meng CJ, Arsenault K, Cosgrove B, Radakovich J, Bosilovich M, Entin JK, Walker JP, Lohmann D, Toll D (2004) The global land data assimilation system. Bull Am Meteor Soc 85(3):381–394
Schmitt RW (1995) The ocean component of the global water cycle, U.S. National Report to IUGG, 1991–1994. Rev Geophys 33(Suppl)
Stephens JI, Antonov TP, Boyer TP et al (2002) World ocean Atlas 2001, vol 1. In: Levitus S (eds) Temperatures, NOAA Atlas NESDIS 49. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, p 176
Tapley BD, Bettadpur S, Watkins MM, Reigber C (2004a) The gravity recovery and climate experiment: mission overview and early results. Geophys Res Lett 31(9):L09607 (doi:10.1029/2004GL019920)
Tapley BD, Bettadpur S, Ries J, Thompson PF, Watkins MM (2004b) GRACE measurements of mass variability in the Earth system. Science 305:503–505
Trenberth KE, Smith L (2005) The mass of the atmosphere: a constraint on global analyses. J Clim 18:864–875
Wahr J (1985) Deformation induced by polar motion. J Geophys Res 90:9363–9368
Wahr J, Molenaar M, Bryan F (1998) Time-variability of the Earth’s gravity field: hydrological and oceanic effects and their possible detection using GRACE. J Geophys Res 103(B12):30205–30230
Wahr J, Swenson S, Zlotnicki V, Velicogna I (2004) Time-variable gravity from GRACE: first results. Geophys Res Lett 31:L11501 (doi:10.1029/2004GL019779)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Chen, J.L., Wilson, C.R., Tapley, B.D. et al. Seasonal global mean sea level change from satellite altimeter, GRACE, and geophysical models. J Geodesy 79, 532–539 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-005-0005-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00190-005-0005-9