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# Abstracted/indexed

Abstracted/indexed
https://doi.org/10.5194/essd-2018-53

Review article 15 May 2018

Review article | 15 May 2018

Review status
This discussion paper is a preprint. It is a manuscript under review for the journal Earth System Science Data (ESSD).

# Global Sea Level Budget 1993–Present

WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group
• LEGOS, 18 Avenue Edouard Belin, 31401 Toulouse, Cedex 9, France

Abstract. Global mean sea level is an integral of changes occurring in the climate system in response to unforced climate variability as well as natural and anthropogenic forcing factors. Its temporal evolution allows detecting changes (e.g., acceleration) in one or more components. Study of the sea level budget provides constraints on missing or poorly known contributions, such as the unsurveyed deep ocean or the still uncertain land water component. In the context of the World Climate Research Programme Grand Challenge entitled Regional Sea Level and Coastal Impacts'', an international effort involving the sea level community worldwide has been recently initiated with the objective of assessing the various data sets used to estimate components of the sea level budget during the altimetry era (1993 to present). These data sets are based on the combination of a broad range of space-based and in situ observations, model estimates and algorithms. Evaluating their quality, quantifying uncertainties and identifying sources of discrepancies between component estimates is extremely useful for various applications in climate research. This effort involves several tens of scientists from about sixty research teams/institutions worldwide (http://www.wcrp-climate.org/grand-challenges/gc-sea-level). The results presented in this paper are a synthesis of the first assessment performed during 2017–2018. We present estimates of the altimetry-based global mean sea level (average rate of 3.1±0.3mm/yr and acceleration of 0.1mm/yr2 over 1993–present), as well as of the different components of the sea level budget (doi:10.17882/54854). We further examine closure of the sea level budget, comparing the observed global mean sea level with the sum of components. Ocean thermal expansion, glaciers, Greenland and Antarctica contribute by 42%, 21%, 15% and 8% to the global mean sea level over the 1993–present. We also study the sea level budget over 2005–present, using GRACE-based ocean mass estimates instead of sum of individual mass components. Results show closure of the sea level budget within 0.3mm/yr. Substantial uncertainty remains for the land water storage component, as shown in examining individual mass contributions to sea level.

WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group
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Status: open (until 03 Aug 2018)
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WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group
WCRP Global Sea Level Budget Group
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Short summary
Global mean sea level is an integral of changes occurring in the climate system in response to unforced climate variability as well as natural and anthropogenic forcing factors. Studying the sea level budget, i.e., comparing observed global mean sea level to the sum of components (ocean thermal expansion, glaciers and ice sheet mass loss as well as changes in land water storage) improves our understanding of processes at work and provides constraints on missing contributions (e.g., deep ocean).
Global mean sea level is an integral of changes occurring in the climate system in response to...
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