Long-term sea-level variability in the eastern South Atlantic and a comparison with that in the eastern Pacific

Abstract

The data set of pressure-corrected monthly mean sea level from sites on the coast of the eastern South Atlantic Ocean has now been extended to cover the years from 1959 to 1985. The length of this data set is now comparable to those used in studies of long-term variability in sea level in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Comparison of the data sets reveals a qualitative agreement in the character of the variability in sea level between the two oceans. In particular, the possibility of high sea-level events propagating polewards from the equatorial Atlantic in the manner of the Pacific El Niño is explored and confirmed. The sea-level record, supported by evidence from published studies of variability in sea surface temperature, shows that the years 1963, 1974 and 1984 should be considered to be years of anomalously high sea level along the entire eastern South Atlantic Ocean.