Tide gauge observations in Antarctica (1958–2014) and recent ice loss

Antarctic science

G. Galassi¹  G. Spada² 

[1] 1Dipartimento di Scienze Pure e Applicate (DiSPeA), Universita degli Studi di Urbino ‘Carlo Bo’, Urbino, Italy;2Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV), Bologna, Italy

关键词: Antarctic ice sheet;    sea level change;    tide gauge data;   

DOI  :  10.1017/S0954102016000729

学科分类：自然科学（综合）

来源: Cambridge University Press

【 摘 要 】

Several historical sea level time series from Antarctic tide gauges, available from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level, are analysed. Two sea level curves, obtained by averaging data from the Antarctic Peninsula and West Antarctica, for 1958–2014, show trends of (2.0±0.1) and (1.8±0.2) mm yr-1, respectively. By empirical mode decomposition, cyclic and non-cyclic components of sea level change were separated. A periodicity of 4–5 years was confirmed and attributed to the effects of the Antarctic Circumpolar Wave. The non-cyclic components were found to show a ‘levelling off’ of ≈ 1 mm yr-1 since c. 2000, which cannot be attributed to the isostatic response to Holocene ice melting. Using assessed mass balance data from the West Antarctic Ice Sheet and the Antarctic Peninsula, we studied the response to current ice loss in the region and found that the levelling off could be partly explained by accelerated melting during the last approximately two decades. This may represent the first evidence of sea level fingerprints of glacial melting in Antarctica.

【 授权许可】

CC BY