Abstract
Abstract. Information on sea level and its temporal and spatial variability is of great importance for various scientific, societal, and economic issues. This article reports about a new sea level dataset for the North Sea (named North SEAL) of monthly sea level anomalies (SLAs), absolute sea level trends, and amplitudes of the mean annual sea level cycle over the period 1995–2019. Uncertainties and quality flags are provided together with the data. The dataset has been created from multi-mission cross-calibrated altimetry data preprocessed with coastal dedicated approaches and gridded with an innovative least-squares procedure including an advanced outlier detection to a 6–8 km wide triangular mesh. The comparison of SLAs and tide gauge time series shows good consistency, with average correlations of 0.85 and maximum correlations of 0.93. The improvement with respect to existing global gridded altimetry solutions amounts to 8 %–10 %, and it is most pronounced in complicated coastal environments such as river mouths or regions sheltered by islands. The differences in trends at tide gauge locations depend on the vertical land motion model used to correct relative sea level trends. The best consistency with a median difference of 0.04±1.15 mm yr−1 is reached by applying a recent glacial isostatic adjustment (GIA) model. With the presented sea level dataset, for the first time, a regionally optimized product for the entire North Sea is made available. It will enable further investigations of ocean processes, sea level projections, and studies on coastal adaptation measures. The North SEAL data are available at https://doi.org/10.17882/79673 (Müller et al., 2021).
Highlights
Sea level is one of the essential climate variables (ECVs) as defined by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), and sea level rise is one of the most discussed topics in the context of global change
We note that the approach of using the zone of influence (ZOI) significantly improves the comparability of sea level trends
This paper presents the new dataset North SEAL of monthly gridded sea level heights in the North Sea over the period 1995–2019
Summary
Sea level is one of the essential climate variables (ECVs) as defined by the Global Climate Observing System (GCOS), and sea level rise is one of the most discussed topics in the context of global change. Risk assessment of potential threats along the coasts by rising sea levels in connection with extreme events requires a solid data basis of sea level changes over the past and predictions of its future evolution. Comprehensive and long time series of precise sea level observations are decisive for the development of appropriate adaptation measures. High-quality observation data on sea level provide a valuable contribution to the general understanding of interactions and processes in the climate system. The coastal regions of the North Sea are in parts densely populated and of great economic significance. For low-lying areas along large coastal stretches of the German Bight, coastal protection measures, such as dike building, are of paramount importance and associated with great efforts (Sterr, 2008)
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