Basin-Scale Sea Level Budget from Satellite Altimetry, Satellite Gravimetry, and Argo Data over 2005 to 2019

Abstract

Monitoring sea level changes and exploring their causes are of great significance for future climate change predictions and the sustainable development of mankind. This study uses multiple sets of satellite altimetry, satellite gravity, and ocean temperature and salinity data to study the basin-scale sea level budget (SLB) from 2005 to 2019. The basin-scale sea level rises significantly at a rate of 2.48–4.31 mm/yr, for which the ocean mass component is a main and stable contributing factor, with a rate of 1.77–2.39 mm/yr, while the steric component explains a ~1 mm/yr sea level rise in most ocean basins, except for the Southern Ocean. Due to the drift in Argo salinity since 2016, the residuals of basin-scale SLB are significant from 2016 to 2019. The worst-affected ocean is the Atlantic Ocean, where the SLB is no longer closed from 2005 to 2019. If halosteric sea level change trends from 2005 to 2015 are used to revise salinity data after 2016, the SLB on the ocean basin scale can be kept closed. However, the SLB on the global scale is still not closed and requires further study. Therefore, we recommend that Argo salinity products after 2016 should be used with caution.