Interannual and interdecadal oscillation patterns in sea level
- Univ. of California, Los Angeles, CA (United States)
Relative sea-level height (RSLH) data at 213 tide-gauge stations have been analyzed on a monthly an an annual basis to study interannual and interdecadal oscillations. The main tools of the study are similar spectrum analysis (SSA) and multichannel SSA (M-SSA). Very-low-frequency variability of RSLH was filtered by SSA to estimate the linear trend at each station. Global sea-level rise, after post-glacial rebound corrections, has been found to equal 1.62{+-}0.38 mm/y, by averaging over 175 stations. The study identified two dominant time scales of El Nino-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) variability, quasi-biennial and low-frequency, in the RSLH data at almost all stations. However, the amplitudes of both ENSO signals are higher in the equatorial Pacific and along the west coast of North America. Throughout the Pacific, the study found three dominant spatio-temporal oscillatory patterns, associated with time scales of ENSO variability; their periods are 2.2.5-3 and 4-6 y. Strong and weak El Nino years are evident in the sea-level time series reconstructed from the quasi-biennial and low-frequency modes. Interannual variability with periods of 3 and 4-8 y is detected in the Atlantic RSLH data. In the eastern Atlantic region, we have found slow propagation of both modes northward and southward, away from 40-45{degrees}N. Interdecadal oscillations were studied using 81 stations with sufficiently long and continuous records. Most of these have variability at 9-13 and some at 18 y. Two significant eigenmode pairs, corresponding to periods of 11.6 and 12.8 y, are found in the eastern and western Atlantic ocean at latitudes 40{degrees}N-70{degrees}N and 10{degrees}N-50{degrees}N, respectively. 60 refs., 23 figs., 3 tabs.
- OSTI ID:
- 255244
- Journal Information:
- Climate Dynamics, Vol. 11, Issue 5; Other Information: PBD: Jul 1995
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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