1. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level C-Change in GEES Changing Coastal Environments Session 3 Session 3: Monitoring Present Sea Level

2. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level How to use these teaching slides  These slides are not intended to form a complete lecture on the session topic.  These resources are designed to suggest a framework to help tutors develop their own lecture material  The resource slides comprise where appropriate; key points, case studies, images, references and further resources.  There are limited case studies included. Students can develop their own portfolio of case studies as part of coursework activities  These resources may be used for educational purposes only, for other uses please contact the author  These slides were last updated in December 2009

3. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Disclaimer  Links within this presentation may lead to other sites. These are provided for convenience only. We do not sponsor, endorse or otherwise approve of any information or statements appearing in those sites. The author is not responsible for the availability of, or the content located on or through, any such external site.  While every effort and care has been taken in preparing the content of this presentation, the author disclaims all warranties, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the information in any of the content. The author also (to the extent permitted by law) shall not be liable for any losses or damages arising from the use of, or reliance on, the information. The author is also not liable for any losses or damages arising from the use of, or reliance on sites linked to this site, or the internet generally.  Pictures, photographs and diagrams within this presentation have been produced by the author unless otherwise stipulated  No content within this resource is knowingly an infringement of copyright. Any infringement can be immediately rectified on notification of the author of the resource

4. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Session Outline Why monitor present day sea level? Monitoring techniques: Tide gauges Radar altimetry Comparison of monitoring techniques Photos: Tide gauge (Luc Van Braekel); Matt McGee (flickr.com)

5. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Understanding past sea-level change Monitoring present day sea-level change Predicting future sea-level rise (modelling) Coastal management, hazard mitigation

6. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Monitoring present day sea-level change Why monitor present day sea level? Improving understanding of processes of environmental change Making predictions about the future (and testing predictive models) Hazard warning systems Coastal management and protection Livelihood dependency on coastal environments Source: climateXchange (flickr.com)

7. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Tide gauge records Data collected at coastal tide gauge points Electronically recorded at time intervals Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) collects and publishes data from a global network of ~2000 tide gauges Oldest records from the Netherlands date back to the 1700s NOAA

8. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Spatial Resolution and Correction Tide gauges monitor sea level relative to coastal land (i.e. local isostatic land changes and erosion) Deriving global sea-level change from a network of tide gauges requires correction for isostatic uplift Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) models and local geological data are used for correction within PSMSL dataset Few records extend back 200 years, most records <40 years old N Hemisphere bias in data Global distribution of PSMSL tide gauge stations (www.pol.ac.uk/psmsl) Peltier W.R (1998) ‘Postglacial Variations in the Level of the Sea: Implications for Climate Dynamics and Solid-Earth Geophysics’. Reviews of Geophysics 36(4):603-689.

9. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Radar Altimetry Emits and detects a reflected radar pulse from a satellite mounted remote sensor (e.g. ERS-1, Geosat) Sea level is produced from a geoid model, satellite trajectory and sea surface topography Source: NASA

10. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Comparison of Monitoring Techniques Tide GaugesRadar Altimetry Measured relative to… CoastGeoid CoverageLocalRegional/Global Sources of uncertainty Stability of land platform (e.g. local erosion) GPS positioning of satellite Microwave backscatter Reference ellipsoid accuracy Temporal Resolution Potentially very high~10 days (satellite return period) Spatial resolution Vertical resolution very high (accurate to 1mm) Horizontal resolution = 200m – 200km+ Vertical resolution = 0.1m – 1mm

11. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level Session Summary Monitoring present sea-level change is important for understanding and being prepared for present day processes as well as making future predictions Two techniques used to produce current data: tide gauges and satellite altimetry Each has associated advantages and disadvantages which determine their applicability to different uses Spatial and temporal resolutions of radar altimetry are improving with technology and standard errors are being reduced. Combining data sets can provide valuable information about global process and better understanding of the links between coastal and global sea-level change processes

12. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level This resource was created by the University of Keele and released as an open educational resource through the 'C-change in GEES' project exploring the open licensing of climate change and sustainability resources in the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences. The C-change in GEES project was funded by HEFCE as part of the JISC/HE Academy UKOER programme and coordinated by the GEES Subject Centre. This resource is licensed under the terms of the Attribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/).http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/ However the resource, where specified below, contains other 3rd party materials under their own licenses. The licenses and attributions are outlined below: 1.The name of Keele University and its logos are unregistered trade marks of the University. The University reserves all rights to these items beyond their inclusion in these CC resources. 2.The JISC logo, the C-change logo and the logo of the Higher Education Academy Subject Centre for the Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences are licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution -non-commercial-No Derivative Works 2.0 UK England & Wales license. All reproductions must comply with the terms of that license

13. Dr Katie Szkornik, Keele University, k.szkornik@esci.keele.ac.uk C-Change in GEES: Changing Coastal Environments – Monitoring Present Sea Level AuthorDr Katie Szkornik Stephen Whitfield Institute – OwnerKeele University, School of Physical and Geographical Sciences TitleMonitoring Present Sea Level Powerpoint Presentation Date CreatedDecember 2009 DescriptionMonitoring Present Sea Level - Powerpoint Presentation – Part Three of Changing Coastal Environments Educational Level3 Keywords (Primary keywords – UKOER & GEESOER) UKOER, GEESOER, tide gauges, radar altimetry, resolution Creative Commons LicenseAttribution-Non-Commercial-Share Alike 2.0 UK: England & Wales Item Metadata