Global Ocean Mean Sea Level time series and trend from Observations Reprocessing

'''DEFINITION'''

The ocean monitoring indicator on mean sea level has been presented in the Copernicus Ocean State Report #8. The ocean monitoring indicator on mean sea level is derived from the DUACS delayed-time (DT-2024 version, “my” (multi-year) dataset used when available) sea level anomaly maps from satellite altimetry based on a stable number of altimeters (two) in the satellite constellation. These products are distributed by the Copernicus Climate Change Service and by the Copernicus Marine Service (SEALEVEL_GLO_PHY_CLIMATE_L4_MY_008_057). 

The time series of area averaged anomalies correspond to the area average of the maps in the Global Ocean weighted by the cosine of the latitude (to consider the changing area in each grid with latitude) and by the proportion of ocean in each grid (to consider the coastal areas). The time series are corrected from global GIA correction of -0.3mm/yr (common global GIA correction, see Spada, 2017). The time series are adjusted for seasonal annual and semi-annual signals and low-pass filtered at 6 months. Then, the trends/accelerations are estimated on the time series using ordinary least square fit. 

The trend uncertainty of 0.3 mm/yr is provided at 90% confidence level using altimeter error budget (Quet et al 2024 [in prep.]). This estimate only considers errors related to the altimeter observation system (i.e., orbit determination errors, geophysical correction errors and inter-mission bias correction errors). The presence of the interannual signal can strongly influence the trend estimation depending on the period considered (Wang et al., 2021; Cazenave et al., 2014). The uncertainty linked to this effect is not considered.  

'''CONTEXT'''

Change in mean sea level is an essential indicator of our evolving climate, as it reflects both the thermal expansion of the ocean in response to its warming and the increase in ocean mass due to the melting of ice sheets and glaciers(WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group, 2018). According to the recent IPCC 6th assessment report (IPCC WGI, 2021), global mean sea level (GMSL) increased by 0.20 [0.15 to 0.25] m over the period 1901 to 2018 with a rate of rise that has accelerated since the 1960s to 3.7 [3.2 to 4.2] mm/yr for the period 2006–2018. Human activity was very likely the main driver of observed GMSL rise since 1970 (IPCC WGII, 2021). The weight of the different contributions evolves with time and in the recent decades the mass change has increased, contributing to the on-going acceleration of the GMSL trend (IPCC, 2022a; Legeais et al., 2020; Horwath et al., 2022). The adverse effects of floods, storms and tropical cyclones, and the resulting losses and damage, have increased as a result of rising sea levels, increasing people and infrastructure vulnerability and food security risks, particularly in low-lying areas and island states (IPCC, 2022b). Adaptation and mitigation measures such as the restoration of mangroves and coastal wetlands, reduce the risks from sea level rise (IPCC, 2022c). 

""KEY FINDINGS ""

Over the [1999/02/20 to 2025/10/18] period, global mean sea level  rises at an average rate of 3.8  0.3 mm/year. This trend estimation is based on the altimeter measurements corrected from the global GIA correction (Spada, 2017) to consider the ongoing movement of land. The TOPEX-A is no longer included in the computation of regional mean sea level parameters (trend and acceleration) with version 2024 products due to potential drifts, and ongoing work aims to develop a new empirical correction. Calculation begins in February 1999 (the start of the TOPEX-B period).  

The observed global trend agrees with other recent estimates (Oppenheimer et al., 2019; IPCC WGI, 2021). About 30% of this rise can be attributed to ocean thermal expansion (WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group, 2018; von Schuckmann et al., 2018), 60% is due to land ice melt from glaciers and from the Antarctic and Greenland ice sheets. The remaining 10% is attributed to changes in land water storage, such as soil moisture, surface water and groundwater. From year to year, the global mean sea level record shows significant variations related mainly to the El Niño Southern Oscillation (Cazenave and Cozannet, 2014). 

'''DOI (product):''' 
https://doi.org/10.48670/moi-00237