[Comment on “Changes in relative sea level”] Changes in sea level: The question of secular motion

Abstract

I am writing this note in reference to one paragraph of a generally interesting report, “Changes in Relative Mean Sea Level’ [by the IAPSO Advisory Committee on Tides and Mean Sea Level], which appeared in the November 5, 1985 issue of Eos [p. 754]. In this paragraph the authors question the nature and even existence of the secular motion of the earth's rotation pole. The paragraph states that because of supposed extreme irregularities in the observed (ILS) motion, “it may even be that the entire apparent secular motion of the pole is an artifact of systematic efforts [this word should probably read ‘errors’] in the ILS” data.