HR: 16:15h
AN: G34A-02 INVITED     [Abstracts]
TI: Steric Sea Level Variability, 1955-2003
AU: * Levitus, S
EM: Sydney.Levitus@NOAA.GOV
AF: NODC/NOAA, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 United States
AU: Antonov, J
EM: John.Antonov@NOAA.GOV
AF: NODC/NOAA, 1315 East West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910 United States
AB: We describe the global average thermosteric component of sea level change for the 1955-2003 period based on approximately 7.2 million temperature profiles. In addition we describe the linear trends of basin zonally averaged means of the thermosteric and halosteric components of sea level change. The Atlantic and Indian oceans can broadly be categorized as basins where the linear trends of these two components of sea level change tend to compensate each other whereas in the Pacific Ocean these trends tend to act in concert. The phenomenon of density compensating changes in the thermohaline and halosteric components of sea level change have important consequences when attempting to infer changes in ocean heat content solely from sea level measurements and in the case of using sea level measurements and historical salinity profiles.
DE: 1641 Sea level change (1222, 1225, 4556)
SC: Geodesy [G]
MN: Fall Meeting 2005