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Multidecadal sea level anomalies and trends in the western tropical Pacific

  1. Mark A. Merrifield1,*,
  2. Philip R. Thompson1,
  3. Mark Lander2

Article first published online: 4 JUL 2012

DOI: 10.1029/2012GL052032

Issue

Geophysical Research Letters

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Information

How to Cite

Merrifield, M. A., P. R. Thompson, and M. Lander (2012), Multidecadal sea level anomalies and trends in the western tropical Pacific, Geophys. Res. Lett., 39, L13602, doi:10.1029/2012GL052032.

Author Information

  1. 1

    Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA

  2. 2

    Water and Environmental Research Institute of the Western Pacific, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam

*Corresponding author: M. A. Merrifield, Department of Oceanography, University of Hawaii at Manoa, 1000 Pope Rd., MSB 317, Honolulu, HI 96822, USA. (markm@soest.hawaii.edu)

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 4 JUL 2012
  2. Article first published online: 4 JUL 2012
  3. Manuscript Accepted: 6 JUN 2012
  4. Manuscript Revised: 5 JUN 2012
  5. Manuscript Received: 17 APR 2012

Funded by

  • NOAA, Office of Climate Observations. Grant Number: NA09OAR4320075

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Keywords:

  • ENSO;
  • PDO;
  • Pacific;
  • sea level

[1] Tide gauge data are used to relate low frequency sea level changes over the past 60 years in the western tropical Pacific, including a significant positive trend over the past two decades, to Pacific climate indices. Five-year averages of western tropical Pacific sea level are well explained by global sea-level rise and a combination of slowly varying trade wind fluctuations captured by dominant climate indices for the tropical Pacific. Implications for multidecadal sea level variations in the region are considered using reconstructions based on the climate indices.

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