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Relative Sea Level Trends
The PSMSL data set is the main source of information on long term changes in global sea level during the last two centuries.
Major conclusions have been that global sea level has indeed risen by approximately 10-20 cm during the past century (see example plot below of some of the longest records from each region of the world: Takoradi, Ghana; Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Sydney, Australia; San Francisco, USA; Brest, France) and may rise by amounts several times larger during the next century.
Plot with time series from all six continents
The data have been employed intensively in studies such as those of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
A table of long term trends derived from annual mean values of sea level in the PSMSL RLR data set demonstrates the rate of change of sea level at each station.
Note, the table should be used with some care as anomalous trends are often the result of
- the result of land movements (e.g. earthquakes, glacial isostatic adjustment)
- unexplained instrumental datum shifts
- changes in atmospheric pressure
- short records
A more complete account can be found in geophysical signals. If a particular site is of interest, please obtain a complete time series plot along with the brief documentation and data files from the obtaining data page.
