Since 1993, measurements from the TOPEX and Jason series of satellite radar altimeters have allowed estimates of global mean sea level. These measurements are continuously calibrated against a network of tide gauges. When seasonal and other variations are subtracted, they allow estimation of the global mean sea level rate. As new data, models and corrections become available, we continuously revise these estimates (about every two months) to improve their quality.
2012_rel2: Global Mean Sea Level Time Series (seasonal signals removed)
Edited: 2012-04-16
Data
Raw data (ASCII) | PDF | EPS
Similar plots
Global Mean Sea Level Time Series (seasonal signals retained)
Release Notes
2012 Release 2 (2012-04-16):
- Added Jason-2/OSTM GDR cycles 128-132.
Calibration
To cite these plots or data, please use: "Estimating Mean Sea Level Change from the TOPEX and Jason Altimeter Missions." Marine Geodesy 33, no. 1 supp 1 (2010): 435.
Senate Committee Hearing on Impacts of Rising Sea Levels on Domestic Infrastructures
Edited: 2012-04-22
The U.S. Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources had a hearing April 19, 2012 on the Impacts of Rising Sea Levels on Domestic Infrastructures. NASA Chief Scientist, Dr. Waleed Abdalati, gave testimony that included our release 2012_rel1 global mean sea level time series. More here.
NASA mission takes stock of Earth's melting land ice
Edited: 2012-02-13
NASA mission takes stock of Earth's melting land ice - In the first comprehensive satellite study of its kind, a University of Colorado at Boulder-led team used NASA data to calculate how much Earth's melting land ice is adding to global sea level rise. [NASA Climate News]
NASA Satellites Detect Pothole on Road to Higher Seas
Edited: 2011-08-23
Our colleagues at JPL have also been interested in how the global mean sea level is affected by the ENSO (i.e., El Niño and La Niña). They find that GRACE measurements helped to identify the distribution of abnormally high rainfall over land resulting from the recent strong La Niña. This temporary transfer of large volumes of water from the oceans to the land surfaces also helps explain the large drop in global mean sea level. But they also expect the global mean sea level to begin climbing again.
An Update from NASA's Sea Level Sentinels:
Like mercury in a thermometer, ocean waters expand as they warm. This, along with melting glaciers and ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica, drives sea levels higher over the long term. For the past 18 years, the U.S./French Jason-1, Jason-2 and Topex/Poseidon spacecraft have been monitoring the gradual rise of the world's ocean in response to global warming.
While the rise of the global ocean has been remarkably steady for most of this time, every once in a while, sea level rise hits a speed bump. This past year, it's been more like a pothole: between last summer and this one, global sea level actually fell by about a quarter of an inch, or half a centimeter.
So what's up with the down seas, and what does it mean? Climate scientist Josh Willis of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., says you can blame it on the cycle of El Niño and La Niña in the Pacific. [Read more...]
