Eigenanalysis of recent United States sea levels

Abstract

Spatial and temporal patterns of recent sea-level rise along the United States coastline have been examined to ascertain rates of rise, and possible causes for high-frequency fluctuations in sea level. Eigenanalysis identified several distinct coastal compartments within each of which sea-level behavior is consistent. The United States east coast has three of these compartments: one north of Cape Cod, where sea-level rise increases with distance to the north; one between Cape Cod and Cape Hatteras where sea-level rise increases to the south; and the third from Cape Hatteras south to Pensacola, where sea-level rise decreases to the south. The western gulf coast represents another compartment (poorly sampled in this study), where subsidence is partly due to compaction. The final compartment is along the United States west coast, where poor spatial sampling produces a highly spatially variable sea-level record that has some temporal uniformity. Spectral analysis shows a dominant time scale of six years for sea-level variability, with different coastal compartments responding relatively in or out of phase. No evidence for increased rates of sea-level rise over the past 10 years was found. This objective statistical technique is a valuable tool for identifying spatial and temporal sea-level trends in the United States. It may later prove useful for identifying elusive world-wide trends of sea level, related to glacial melting, glacial rebound, tectonism, and volcanic activity.