1 Satellite Measurements of Sea Level Change: Where Have We Been and Where Are We Going

• Main Authors: R. S. Nerem, D. P. Chambers, E. W. Leuliette, G. T. Mitchum, A. Cazenave
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Greenland; Antarc*; Antarctica
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.517.2296; http://earth.esa.int/workshops/venice06/participants/1092/paper_venice06.pdf

Our understanding of sea level change has improved considerably over the last decade. Present-day knowledge of sea-level change is derived from tide gauge observations and satellite altimetry measurements. The average rate of sea level change obtained from tide gauges over the last century is +1.8 mm/year. In comparison, altimeter measurements have shown an average rise of +3.2 ± 0.4 mm/year since 1992. The causes of the present-day rate are a combination of increases in ocean temperatures and land ice melt from mountain glaciers, Greenland, and Antarctica. New satellite technologies, such as InSAR, GRACE and ICESat are making significant contributions to understanding sea level change. 1.