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Steric sea level variability (1993-2010) in an ensemble of ocean reanalyses and objective analyses
Quantifying the effect of the seawater density changes on sea level variability is of crucial importance for climate change studies, as the sea level cumulative rise can be regarded as both an important climate change indicator and a possible danger for human activities in coastal areas. In this work, as part of the Ocean Reanalysis Intercomparison Project, the global and regional steric sea level changes are estimated and compared from an ensemble of 16 ocean reanalyses and 4 objective analyses. These estimates are initially compared with a satellite-derived (altimetry minus gravimetry) dataset for a short period (2003â2010). The ensemble mean exhibits a significant high correlation at both global and regional scale, and the ensemble of ocean reanalyses outperforms that of objective analyses, in particular in the Southern Ocean. The reanalysis ensemble mean thus represents a valuable tool for further analyses, although large uncertainties remain for the inter-annual trends. Within the extended intercomparison period that spans the altimetry era (1993â2010), we find that the ensemble of reanalyses and objective analyses are in good agreement, and both detect a trend of the global steric sea level of 1.0 and 1.1 ± 0.05 mm/year, respectively. However, the spread among the products of the halosteric component trend exceeds the mean trend itself, questioning the reliability of its estimate. This is related to the scarcity of salinity observations before the Argo era. Furthermore, the impact of deep ocean layers is non-negligible on the steric sea level variability (22 and 12 % for the layers below 700 and 1500 m of depth, respectively), although the small deep ocean trends are not significant with respect to the products spread
Copernicus marine service ocean state report
The oceans regulate our weather and climate from global to regional scales. They absorb over 90% of accumulated heat in the climate system (IPCC Citation2013) and over a quarter of the anthropogenic carbon dioxide (Le QuĂ©rĂ© et al. Citation2016). They provide nearly half of the worldâs oxygen. Most of our rain and drinking water is ultimately regulated by the sea. The oceans provide food and energy and are an important source of the planet's biodiversity and ecosystem services. They are vital conduits for trade and transportation and many economic activities depend on them (OECD Citation2016). Our oceans are, however, under threat due to climate change and other human induced activities and it is vital to develop much better, sustainable and science-based reporting and management approaches (UN Citation2017). Better management of our oceans requires long-term, continuous and state-of-the art monitoring of the oceans from physics to ecosystems and global to local scales.
The Copernicus Marine Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) has been set up to address these challenges at European level. Mercator Ocean was tasked in 2014 by the European Union under a delegation agreement to implement the operational phase of the service from 2015 to 2021 (CMEMS Citation2014). The CMEMS now provides regular and systematic reference information on the physical state, variability and dynamics of the ocean, ice and marine ecosystems for the global ocean and the European regional seas (Figure 0.1; CMEMS Citation2016). This capacity encompasses the description of the current situation (analysis), the prediction of the situation 10 days ahead (forecast), and the provision of consistent retrospective data records for recent years (reprocessing and reanalysis). CMEMS provides a sustainable response to European user needs in four areas of benefits: (i) maritime safety, (ii) marine resources, (iii) coastal and marine environment and (iv) weather, seasonal forecast and climate.
Figure 0.1. CMEMS geographical areas on the map are for: 1 â Global Ocean; 2 â Arctic Ocean from 62°N to North Pole; 3 â Baltic Sea, which includes the whole Baltic Sea including Kattegat at 57.5°N from 10.5°E to 12.0°E; 4 â European North-West Shelf Sea, which includes part of the North East Atlantic Ocean from 48°N to 62°N and from 20°W to 13°E. The border with the Baltic Sea is situated in the Kattegat Strait at 57.5°N from 10.5°E.to 12.0°E; 5 â Iberia-Biscay-Ireland Regional Seas, which includes part of the North East Atlantic Ocean from 26 to 48°N and 20°W to the coast. The border with the Mediterranean Sea is situated in the Gibraltar Strait at 5.61°W; 6 â Mediterranean Sea, which includes the whole Mediterranean Sea until the Gibraltar Strait at 5.61°W and the Dardanelles Strait; 7 â Black Sea, which includes the whole Black Sea until the Bosporus Strait
Copernicus Marine Service Ocean State Report
The Compernicus Marine Environmenta and Monitoring Servic