Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Assessing the global averaged sea-level budget from 2003 to 2010

  • Published:
Acta Oceanologica Sinica Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

A global mass balance (Greenland and Antarctica ice sheet mass loss, terrestrial water storage) and different sea-level components (observed sea-level from satellite altimetry, steric sea-level from Ishii data, and ocean mass from gravity recovery and climate experiment, GRACE) are estimated, in terms of seasonal and interannual variabilities from 2003 to 2010. The results show that a detailed analysis of the GRACE time series over the time period 2003–2010 unambiguously reveals an increase in mass loss from the Greenland ice sheet and Antarctica ice sheet. The mass loss of both ice sheets accelerated at a rate of (392.8±70.0) Gt/a during 2003–2010, which contributed (1.09±0.19) mm/a to the globalmean sea-level during this time. The net terrestrial water storage (TWS) trend was negative over the 8 a time span, which gave a small positive contribution of (0.25±0.12) mm/a. The interannual variability of the globalmean sea-level was at least partly caused by year-to-year variability of land water storage. Estimating GRACE-based ice sheet mass balance and terrestrial water storage by using published estimates for melting glaciers, the results further show that the ocean mass increase since 2003 has resulted half from an enhanced contribution of the polar ice sheets, and half from the combined ice sheet and terrestrial water storage loss. Taking also into account the melting of mountain glaciers (0.41 mm/a) and the small GRACE-based contribution from continental waters (0.25 mm/a), a total ocean mass contribution of (1.75±0.57) mm/a from 2003 to 2010 is found. Such a value represented 75% of the altimetry-based rate of sea-level rise over that period. The contributions to steric sea-level (i.e., ocean thermal expansion plus salinity effects) are estimated from: (1) the difference between altimetry-based sea-level and ocean mass change and (2) the latest Ishii data. The inferred steric sea-level rate from(1) (1.41 mm/a from 2003 to 2010) did not agree well with the Ishii-based value also estimated here (0.44 mm/a from 2003 to 2010), but phase. The cause for such a discrepancy is not yet known but may be related to inadequate sampling of in situ ocean temperature and salinity measurements.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ablain M, Cazenave A, Valladeau G, et al. 2009. A new assessment of the error budget of global mean sea-level rate estimated by satellite altimetry over 1993–2008. Ocean Sci, 5: 193–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bindoff N, Willebrand J, Artale V. 2007. Observations: oceanic climate and sea-level. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, et al., eds. Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge, UK, and New York, USA: Cambridge University Press, 289–429

    Google Scholar 

  • Cazenave A, Guinehut S, Ramillien, et al. 2009. Sea level budget over 2003–2008: a reevaluation from satellite altimetry, GRACE and Argo data. Global Planet Change, 65: 83–88

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cazenave A, Llovel W. 2010. Contemporary sea level rise. Annu Rev Mar Sci, 2: 145–173

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cazenave A, Valladeau G, Guinehut S. 2009. A new assessment of the error budget of global mean sea level rate estimated by satellite altimetry over 1993–2008. Ocean Sci, 5: 193–201

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers DP. 2006. Evaluation of new GRACE time-variable gravity data over the ocean. Geophys Res Lett, 33(17): LI7603

    Google Scholar 

  • Chen Jianli, Wilson CR, Blankenship DD, et al. 2006. Antarctic mass rates fromGRACE. Geophys Res Lett, 33: L11520

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Jianli, Wilson CR, Blankenship DD, et al. 2009. Accelerated Antarctic ice loss from satellite gravity measurements. Nat Geosci, 2: 859–862

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Jianli, Wilson CR, Tapley BD. 2006. Satellite gravity measurements confirm accelerated melting of the Greenland ice sheet. Science, 313: 1958–1960

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Jianli, Wilson CR, Tapley BD et al. 2009. 2005 drought event in the Amazon River basin as measured by GRACE and estimated by climatemodels. Geophys Res, 114: B05404

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chen Jianli, Wilson CR, Tapley BD. 2011. Interannual variability of Greenland ice losses from satellite gravimetry. Geophys Res, 116: B07406

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gardner A S, Mololdt G, Wouters B et al. 2011. Sharply increased mass loss from glaciers and ice caps in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Nature, 473: 357–360

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • IPCC. 2007. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. In: Solomon S, Qin D, Manning M, et al., eds. Climate Change 2007: the Physical Science Basis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

    Google Scholar 

  • Jacob T, Wahr J, Pfeffer W, et al. 2012. Recent contributions of glaciers and ice caps to sea level rise. Nature, 482: 514–518

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kennedy AJ, Griffin ML, Morey S L, et al. 2007. Effects of El Nino-Southern Oscillation on sea level anomalies along the Gulf of Mexico coast. J Geophys Res, 112, C05047

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Leuliette E W, Miller L. 2009. Closing the sea level rise budget with altimetry, Argo, and GRACE. Geophys Res Lett, 36: L04608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llovel W, Becker M, Cazenave A, et al. 2010. Global land water storage change from GRACE over 2002–2009; Inference on sea level. C R Geo Science, 342: 179–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llovel W, Guinehut S, Cazenave A. 2010. Regional and interannual variability in sea level over 2002–2009 based on satellite altimetry, Argo float data and GRACE ocean mass. Ocean Dyn, 60: 1193–1204

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Llovel W, Becker M, Cazenave A, et al. 2011. Terrestrial waters and sea level variations on interannual time scale. Global Planetary Change, 75: 76–82

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lombard A, Garcia D, Ramillien G, et al. 2007. Estimation of steric sea level variations from combined GRACE and Jason-1 data. Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 254(1–2): 194–202

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Luthcke SB, Zwally HJ, Abdalati W, et al. 2006. Recent Greenland ice mass loss by drainage systemfromsatellite gravity observations. Science, 314: 1286–1289

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marco M, Calafat FM, Llovel W. 2011. Regional distribution of steric and mass contributions to sea level changes. Global Planetary Change, 76: 206–218

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Meier MF, Dyurgerov MB, Rick UK. 2007. Glaciers dominate eustatic sea level rise in the 21st century. Science, 317(5841): 1064–1067

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milly PCD, Cazenave A, Famiglietti J S, et al. 2010. Terrestrial waterstorage contributions to sea-level rise and variability. Understanding Sea-Level Rise and Variability: 226–255

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Paulson A, Zhong S, Wahr J. 2007. Inference of mantle viscosity from GRACE and relative sea level data. Geophys J Int, 171: 497–508

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Peltier WR. 2009. Closure of the budget of global sea level rise over the GRACE era: the importance andmagnitudes of the required corrections for global glacial isostatic adjustment. Quatern Sci Rev, 28: 17–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramillien G, Cazenave A, Brunau O. 2004. Global time-variations of hydrological signals from GRACE satellite gravimetry. Geophys J Int, 158: 813–826

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramillien G, Lombard A, Cazenave A, et al. 2006. Interannual variations of the mass balance of the Antarctica and Greenland ice sheets fromGRACE. Global Planet Change, 53: 198–208

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramillien G, Bouhours S, Lombard A, et al. 2008. Land water contributions from GRACE to sea level rise over 2002-2006. Global Planet Change, 60: 381–392

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rignot E, Bamber JL, Broecke MR, et al. 2008. Recent Antarctica ice mass loss from radar interferometry and regional climate modelling. Nat Geosci, 1: 106–110

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rignot E, Box JE, Burgess E, et al. 2008. Mass balance of the Greenland ice sheet from 1958 to 2007. Geophys Res Lett, 35: L20502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Riva REM, Bamber JL, Lavallee DA, et al. 2010. Sea-level fingerprint of continental water and ice mass change from GRACE. Geophys Res Lett, 37: L19605

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Roemmich D, Gilson J. 2009. The 2004–2008 mean and annual cycle of temperature, salinity and steric height in the global ocean from the Argo program. Prog Oceanogr, 82: 81–100

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tapley BD, Bettadpur S, Ries JC, et al. 2004. GRACEmeasurements of mass variability in the earth system. Science, 305: 503–505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomson RE, Tabata S. 1987. Steric height trends at Ocean Station PAPA in the northeast Pacific Ocean. Mar Geodesy, 11: 103–113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velicogna I, Wahr J. 2005. Greenland mass balance fromGRACE. Geophys Res Lett, 32: L18505

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velicogna I, Wahr J. 2006a. Acceleration of Greenland ice mass loss in spring 2004. Nature, 443: 329–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velicogna I, Wahr J. 2006b. Measurements of time-variable gravity show mass loss in Antarctica. Science, 311: 1754–1756

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Velicogna I. 2009. Increasing rates of ice mass loss from the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets revealed by GRACE. Geophys Res Lett, 36: L19503

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • 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: 30205–30230

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wahr J, Swenson S, Zlotnicki V, et al. 2004. Time-variable gravity from GRACE: first results. Geophys Res Lett, 31: L11501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Willis JK, Chambers DP, Nerem RS. 2008. Assessing the globally averaged sea level budget on seasonal to interannual time scales. J Geophys Res, 113: C06015

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wouters B, Chambers D, Schrama EJO. 2008. GRACE observes smallscalemass loss in Greenland. Geophys Res Lett, 35: L20501

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuo Juncheng, Zhang Jianli, Du Ling. 2009. Sea level change and thermal contribution. J Ocean Univ China, 8(1): 1–8

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zuo Juncheng, Du Ling, Zhang Jianli, et al. 2010. Global distribution of thermosteric contribution to sea level rising trend. J OceanUniv China, 9(3): 119–209

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Key Laboratory of Ministry of Education for Coastal Disaster and Defence, Hohai University, Nanjing, 210098, China

    Juan Li, Juncheng Zuo, Meixiang Chen, Wei Tan & Yiqiu Yang

Authors
  1. Juan Li
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Juncheng Zuo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Meixiang Chen
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Wei Tan
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yiqiu Yang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Juan Li.

Additional information

Foundation item: The Ocean Public Welfare Industry Research Special of China under contract No. 201005019; The Natural Science Foundation of Hohai University under contract No. 2009427111; The National Natural Science Foundation of China project of No. 40976006; The College Graduate Research and Innovation Projects of Jiangsu Province of China under contract No. CXLX11-0433; The Central University Fundamental Research Fund of Hohai University of China under contract No. 2009 BO2614.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Li, J., Zuo, J., Chen, M. et al. Assessing the global averaged sea-level budget from 2003 to 2010. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 32, 16–23 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-013-0361-x

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13131-013-0361-x

Key words

Search

Navigation