Climate variabilities of sea level around the Korean Peninsula

Abstract

In order to study the climate variabilities of the sea level around the Korean Peninsula, tidal data observed at local stations in Korea were compared against those obtained using TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) altimetric sea level data. In the course of our study, the amount of sea level rise was estimated using the tidal data from 9 stations selected by an anomaly coherency analysis. The results indicated that the sea level has risen by 0.28 cm yr−1 around the Korean Peninsula over the past two decades. The extent of such a rise is about two times higher than that of the global increase (0.1–0.2 cm yr−1). However, because most global warming effects occurred mainly over mid- and high-latitudes, this level of change appears to be realistic. According to the spectral analysis (at a spectral window ofk = 2,k is the number of subdivisions), the decadal band of sea level variability is computed at 30% of the energy. Its spectral peak is found at 12.8 years. In the interannual band, the predominant sea level variability is in the 1.4–1.9-year band, with a sharp peak at 1.6 years. A secondary peak, although marginal, has a period of 2.2 years. Based on our estimates of sea level height from Topex/Poseidon, the quasi-biennial periodicity of 1.6 years is the representative interannual sea level variability in the seas adjacent to Korea. Trends vary greatly according to the geographical location, from a maximum of 1.0 cm yr−1 (the southern sector of the East Sea) to a minimum of 0.17 cm yr−1 (the northern sector of the East Sea). This is fairly consistent with the qualitative description already given with reference to the global map. As an analogue to the pattern seen in Korea, that of the Yellow Sea reveals practically the same trend as that of the adjacent seas (0.56 cm yr−1). However, in the case of TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) data, there is no clear evidence of a linkage between the interannual sea level variability around the Korean Peninsula and ENSO.