National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Acceleration of Regional Sea-Level Rise Benjamin Hamlington Science or Technology Question: The extent to which the pattern of regional sea-level rise measured by altimeters is representative of the forced sea-level response remains an open question. Internal variability both contributes to regional sea-level changes on short timescales and masks the pattern of forced trend acceleration associated with anthropogenic global warming. Here, we quantify the extent to which internal variability impacts trends and accelerations, and investigate the underlying pattern after removing a portion of the internal variability. The pattern of regional sea level trends measured by satellite altimeters from shifted dramatically from the first half of the record (a) to the second half of the record (b), implying a large Data & Results: Using the MEa. SUREs Gridded Sea acceleration signal. Surface Height Anomalies, internal variability is removed from the satellite altimeter record and the impact on trends and accelerations is assessed. For most locations, a significant acceleration or deceleration still has not emerged. However, many of the large amplitude signals have been removed, narrowing the range of accelerations towards our expectation for the forced sea-level response. Significance: The perception of the significance of ongoing sea-level rise can be influenced by short-term changes and trends associated with internal variability. By separating the drivers of sea level change, we can both highlight the influence of internal variability and provide a better indication of how sea level will change regionally in the future. To understand the cause of this acceleration, we remove a portion of the internal variability (c, d) and compare estimates to those obtained from the original data (a, b). Hamlington, B. D. , T. Frederikse, R. S. Nerem, J. T. Fasullo, S. Adhikari, Investigating the Acceleration of Regional Sea-level rise During the Satellite Altimeter Era, Geophysical Research Letters, https: //doi. org/10. 1029/2019 GL 086528 This study was funded by NASA Grants NNX 17 AH 35 G (Ocean Surface Topography Science Team), and 80 NSSC 17 K 0564 (NASA Sea Level Change Team) (Nadya Vinogradova Shiffer)
National Aeronautics and Space Administration Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Contact: Your Full Name, Mail Stop, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, CA 91109 youremail@jpl. nasa. gov Citation: (full citation with DOI. This lets you use an abridged version in the main slide) Data Sources: Which instruments, satellites, and where the data can be found (e. g, which NASA DAAC, or ftp site, etc) Technical Description of Figure: An expanded figure caption. Again, point out what the viewer should notice in the figure. Scientific significance, societal relevance, and relationships to future missions: .
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