HR: 17:45h
AN: U24B-08    [Abstracts]
TI: Closing the Globally Averaged Sea Level Budget on Seasonal to Interannual Time Scales
AU: * Willis, J K
EM: joshua.k.willis@jpl.nasa.gov
AF: Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology, M/S 300-323 4800 Oak Grove Dr., Pasadena, CA 90034, United States
AU: Chambers, D P
EM: chambers@csr.utexas.edu
AF: Center for Space Research, University of Texas at Austin 3925 W. Braker Lane #200, Austin, TX 78759, United States
AU: Nerem, R S
EM: Nerem@Colorado.EDU
AF: Colorado Center for Astrodynamics Research, The University of Colorado Campus Box 431, Boulder, CO 80309, United States
AB: Analysis of ocean temperature and salinity data from profiling floats along with satellite measurements of sea surface height and the time variable gravity field are used to investigate the causes of global mean sea level rise between mid-2003 and 2007. Between 2004 and 2006, the observed fluctuations in sea level can be explained as the sum of a mass component and a steric (or density related) component to within the error bounds of each observing system. During this period, sea level in 2005 was approximately 4 mm higher than in 2004 due primarily to a sudden increase in ocean mass in the early part of the year, with a negligible contribution from steric variability. The 3.5-year trends do not balance, however, suggesting that systematic errors remain in one or more of these observing systems.
DE: 1218 Mass balance (0762, 1223, 1631, 1836, 1843, 3010, 3322, 4532)
DE: 1225 Global change from geodesy (1222, 1622, 1630, 1641, 1645, 4556)
DE: 1635 Oceans (1616, 3305, 4215, 4513)
DE: 4556 Sea level: variations and mean (1222, 1225, 1641)
SC: Union [U]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting