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Terrestrial Waters and Sea Level Variations on Interannual Time ScaleOn decadal to multi-decadal time scales, thermal expansion of sea waters and land ice loss are the main contributors to sea level variations. However, modification of the terrestrial water cycle due to climate variability and direct anthropogenic forcing may also affect sea level. For the past decades, variations in land water storage and corresponding effects on sea level cannot be directly estimated from observations because these are almost non-existent at global continental scale. However, global hydrological models developed for atmospheric and climatic studies can be used for estimating total water storage. For the recent years (since mid-2002), terrestrial water storage change can be directly estimated from observations of the GRACE space gravimetry mission. In this study, we analyse the interannual variability of total land water storage, and investigate its contribution to mean sea level variability at interannual time scale. We consider three different periods that, each, depend on data availability: (1) GRACE era (2003-2009), (2) 1993-2003 and (3) 1955-1995. For the GRACE era (period 1), change in land water storage is estimated using different GRACE products over the 33 largest river basins worldwide. For periods 2 and 3, we use outputs from the ISBA-TRIP (Interactions between Soil, Biosphere, and Atmosphere-Total Runoff Integrating Pathways) global hydrological model. For each time span, we compare change in land water storage (expressed in sea level equivalent) to observed mean sea level, either from satellite altimetry (periods 1 and 2) or tide gauge records (period 3). For each data set and each time span, a trend has been removed as we focus on the interannual variability. We show that whatever the period considered, interannual variability of the mean sea level is essentially explained by interannual fluctuations in land water storage, with the largest contributions arising from tropical river basins.
Document ID
20120010653
Acquisition Source
Goddard Space Flight Center
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Llovel, W.
(Observatoire de Midi-Pyrenees Toulouse, France)
Becker, M.
(Observatoire de Midi-Pyrenees Toulouse, France)
Cazenave, A.
(Observatoire de Midi-Pyrenees Toulouse, France)
Jevrejeva, S.
(Proudman Oceanographic Lab. Liverpool, United Kingdom)
Alkama, R.
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Toulouse, France)
Decharme, B.
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Toulouse, France)
Douville, H.
(Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique Toulouse, France)
Ablain, M.
(Collecte Localisation Satellite Toulouse, France)
Beckley, B.
(NASA Goddard Space Flight Center Greenbelt, MD, United States)
Date Acquired
August 26, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 2011
Publication Information
Publication: Global and Planetary Change
Publisher: Elsevier Science Publishers Ltd.
Volume: 75
Issue: 2-Jan
Subject Category
Meteorology And Climatology
Report/Patent Number
GSFC.JA.00455.2012
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other

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