scholarly journals The ambiguous sea level rise at Brest’s 212 yearlong record elucidated

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 95-101
Author(s):  
H. Bâki İz ◽  
C.K. Shum

Abstract The tide gauge record at Brest, France, along Eastern part of Atlantic coast is one of the longest records in Europe spanning 212 years (1807–2019). Analyzing these records has important ramifications in assessing anthropogenic impact of climate change at local and regional scales during this period. All the previous studies that analyzed Brest’s tide gauge record have used vaguely defined quadratics models and did not incorporate the effect of sea level variations at various frequencies, which confounded the presence or absence of a plausible uniform acceleration. Here, we entertained two competing kinematic models; one with a uniform acceleration representing 212 years of monthly averaged tide gauge data, the other is a two-phase trend model (Phase I is 93 years long and Phase II is 119 years long). Both models include statistically significant (α = 0.05) common periodic effects, and sub and super harmonics of luni-solar origin for representing monthly averaged sea level anomalies observed at Brest. The least squares statistics for both models’ solutions cannot distinguish one model over the other, like earlier studies. However, the assessment of Phase I segment of the records disclosed the absence of a statistically significant trend and a uniform acceleration during this period. This outcome eliminates conclusively the occurrence of a uniform acceleration during the entire 212-year data span of the tide gauge record at Brest, favoring the two-phase trend model as a sound alternative.

1992 ◽  
Vol 29 (11) ◽  
pp. 2418-2425 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. Mark Tushingham

Churchill, Manitoba, is located near the centre of postglacial uplift caused by the Earth's recovery from the melting of the Laurentide Ice Sheet. The value of present-day uplift at Churchill has important implications in the study of postglacial uplift in that it can aid in constraining the thickness of the ice sheet and the rheology of the Earth. The tide-gauge record at Churchill since 1940 is examined, along with nearby Holocene relative sea-level data, geodetic measurements, and recent absolute gravimetry measurements, and a present-day rate of uplift of 8–9 mm/a is estimated. Glacial isostatic adjustment models yield similar estimates for the rate of uplift at Churchill. The effects of the tide-gauge record of the diversion of the Churchill River during the mid-1970's are discussed.


Atmosphere ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 95
Author(s):  
Phil J. Watson

This paper provides an Extreme Value Analysis (EVA) of the hourly water level record at Fort Denison dating back to 1915 to understand the statistical likelihood of the combination of high predicted tides and the more dynamic influences that can drive ocean water levels higher at the coast. The analysis is based on the Peaks-Over-Threshold (POT) method using a fitted Generalised Pareto Distribution (GPD) function to estimate extreme hourly heights above mean sea level. The analysis highlights the impact of the 1974 East Coast Low event and rarity of the associated measured water level above mean sea level at Sydney, with an estimated return period exceeding 1000 years. Extreme hourly predictions are integrated with future projections of sea level rise to provide estimates of relevant still water levels at 2050, 2070 and 2100 for a range of return periods (1 to 1000 years) for use in coastal zone management, design, and sea level rise adaptation planning along the NSW coastline. The analytical procedures described provide a step-by-step guide for practitioners on how to develop similar baseline information from any long tide gauge record and the associated limitations and key sensitivities that must be understood and appreciated in applying EVA.


2012 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 370 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugh R. Grenfell ◽  
Bruce W. Hayward ◽  
Ritsuo Nomura ◽  
Ashwaq T. Sabaa

The present study aimed to extract a sea-level history from northern New Zealand salt-marsh sediments using a foraminiferal proxy, and to extend beyond the longest nearby tide-gauge record. Transects through high-tidal salt marsh at Puhinui, Manukau Harbour, Auckland, New Zealand, indicate a zonation of dominant foraminifera in the following order (with increasing elevation): Ammonia spp.–Elphidium excavatum, Ammotium fragile, Miliammina fusca, Haplophragmoides wilberti–Trochammina inflata, Trochamminita salsa–Miliammina obliqua. The transect sample faunas are used as a training set to generate a transfer function for estimating past tidal elevations in two short cores nearby. Heavy metal, 210Pb and 137Cs isotope analyses provide age models that indicate 35 cm of sediment accumulation since ~1890 AD. The first proxy-based 20th century rates of sea-level rise from New Zealand’s North Island at 0.28 ± 0.05 cm year–1 and 0.33 ± 0.07 cm year–1 are estimated. These are faster than the nearby Auckland tide gauge for the same interval (0.17 ± 0.1 cm year–1), but comparable to a similar proxy record from southern New Zealand (0.28 ± 0.05 cm year–1) and to satellite-based observations of global sea-level rise since 1993 (0.31 ± 0.07 cm year–1).


Author(s):  
F.N Teferle ◽  
R.M Bingley ◽  
S.D.P Williams ◽  
T.F Baker ◽  
A.H Dodson

Researchers investigating climate change have used historical tide-gauge measurements from all over the world to investigate the changes in sea-level that have occurred over the last century or so. However, such estimates are a combination of any true sea-level variations and any vertical movements of the land at the specific tide-gauge. For a tide- gauge record to be used to determine the climate related component of changes in sea-level, it is therefore necessary to correct for the vertical land movement component of the observed change in sea-level. In 1990, the Institute of Engineering Surveying and Space Geodesy and Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory started developing techniques based on the Global Positioning System (GPS) for measuring vertical land movements (VLM) at tide-gauges in the UK. This paper provides brief details of these early developments and shows how they led to the establishment of continuous GPS (CGPS) stations at a number of tide-gauges. The paper then goes on to discuss the use of absolute gravity (AG), as an independent technique for measuring VLM at tide-gauges. The most recent results, from CGPS time-series dating back to 1997 and AG time-series dating back to 1995/1996, are then used to demonstrate the complementarity of these two techniques and their potential for providing site-specific estimates of VLM at tide-gauges in the UK.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Thejll

<p>Information on extremes of the sea-level is obtained from tide-gauge<br>records.  Such records may have gaps.</p><p>Estimates of potential changes in the size and/or frequency of sea-level<br>extremes are hampered by long gaps, or when just the high extremes are<br>missing due, e.g. to equipment failure.</p><p>Methods used for filling such gaps can be based on having multiple<br>records from gauges near each other; but what to do if there is<br>only one record? This problem can typically occur when old tide-gauge<br>records are used -- the use of multiple recorders at the same place is<br>more wide-spread today. However, especially older and therefore longer<br>records hold the key to obtaining long-baseline insights into the temporal<br>evolution of extreme tides and thus impacts of e.g. climate change.</p><p>In this work, we review and assess methods for gap filling. We asses using<br>the 'known truth' method, i.e. by applying realistic gaps to complete<br>gauge records and reconstructing and then comparing errors calculated as<br>the diffrence between modelled and actual values.  We compare a simple<br>harmonic model fit method to various spline methods as well as Neural<br>network and deep learning approches.  We also test a hybrid method<br>which uses not just tide-gauge data but also air pressure readings<br>from a meteorological station near the tide-gauge.</p><p>We then attempt to fill in the missing maxima of the Esbjerg, Denmark<br>hourly tide-gauge record since 1889. Particularly, before 1910 the maxima<br>above 300 cm are missing (Bijl, et al., 1999), and we try to fill these in.</p>


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 1995-2028 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. P. Wadey ◽  
I. D. Haigh ◽  
J. M. Brown

Abstract. For the UK's longest and most complete sea level record (Newlyn), we assess extreme high water events and their temporal clustering; prompted by the 2013/2014 winter of flooding and storms. These are set into context against this almost 100 yr record. We define annual periods for which storm activity, tides and sea levels can be compared on a year-by-year basis. Amongst the storms and high tides which affected Newlyn the recent winter produced the largest recorded high water (3 February 2014) and five others above a 1 in 1 yr return period. The large magnitude of tide and mean sea level, and the close inter-event spacings (of large return period high waters), suggests that the 2013/2014 high water "season" may be considered the most extreme on record. However, storm and sea level events may be classified in different ways. For example in the context of sea level rise (which we calculate linearly as 1.81 ± 0.1 mm yr−1 from 1915 to 2014), a lower probability combination of surge and tide occurred on 29 January 1948, whilst 1995/1996 storm surge season saw the most high waters of ≥ 1 in 1 yr return period. We provide a basic categorisation of five types of high water cluster, ranging from consecutive tidal cycles to multiple years. The assessment is extended to other UK sites (with shorter sea level records and different tide-surge characteristics), which suggests 2013/2014 was extreme, although further work should assess clustering mechanisms and flood system "memory".


2018 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 130-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. Bâki Iz ◽  
C. K. Shum ◽  
C. Y. Kuo

Abstract This observational study reports that several globally distributed tide gauge stations exhibit a propensity of statistically significant sea level accelerations during the satellite altimetry era. However, the magnitudes of the estimated tide gauge accelerations during this period are systematically and noticeably smaller than the global mean sea level acceleration reported by recent analyses of satellite altimetry. The differences are likely to be caused by the interannual, decadal and interdecadal sea level variations, which are modeled using a broken trend model with overlapping harmonics in the analyses of tide gauge data but omitted in the analysis of satellite altimetry.


2011 ◽  
Vol 75 (1) ◽  
pp. 24-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veronica Rossi ◽  
Benjamin P. Horton ◽  
D. Reide Corbett ◽  
Eduardo Leorri ◽  
Lucia Perez-Belmonte ◽  
...  

AbstractForaminiferal assemblages preserved within salt-marsh sediment can provide an accurate and precise means to reconstruct relative sea level due to a strong relationship with elevation, which can be quantified using a transfer function. We collected a set of surface samples from two salt marshes in the Morbihan Golfe, France to determine foraminiferal distribution patterns. Dominant taxa included Jadammina macrescens, Trochammina inflata, Haplophragmoides spp. and Miliammina fusca. We developed a foraminifera-based transfer function using a modern training set of 36 samples and 23 species. The strong relationship between observed and predicted values (r2jack = 0.7) indicated that foraminiferal distribution is primarily controlled by elevation with respect to the tidal frame and precise reconstructions of former sea level are possible (RMSEPjack = 0.07 m). The application of the transfer function to a short salt-marsh core (0.32 m) allowed the reconstruction of former sea levels, which were placed in a chronological framework using short-lived radionuclides (210Pb and 137Cs). The agreement between the foraminifera-based sea level curve and the Brest tide-gauge record confirms the reliability of transfer function estimates and the validity of this methodology to extend sea level reconstructions back into the pre-instrumental period. Both instrumental and microfossil records suggest an acceleration of sea level rise during the 20th century.


2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (23) ◽  
pp. 9713-9726 ◽  
Author(s):  
Philip R. Thompson ◽  
Gary T. Mitchum ◽  
Cedric Vonesch ◽  
Jianke Li

Interannual to multidecadal variability of winter storminess in the eastern United States was studied using water level measurements from coastal tide gauges. The proximity to the coast of the primary winter storm track in the region allows the use of tide gauges to study temporal modulations in the frequency of these storms. Storms were identified in high-passed, detided sea level anomalies in 20 gauges from all coasts of North America to assess variability in winter storminess along particular storm tracks. The primary result is a significant multidecadal increase in the number of storms affecting the southeastern United States from the early to late twentieth century. The authors propose that this change is due to an increased tendency for the jet stream to meander south over the eastern United States since the 1950s. This mechanism is supported by long-term changes in the large-scale sea level pressure pattern over North America. The nature of the multidecadal change in storm frequency is unclear, because limited tide gauge record lengths prevent distinguishing between a trend and an oscillation.


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