The Mean Sea Level Equation and Its Application to the Mediterranean Sea

Abstract

Abstract A formalism to obtain a mean sea level equation (MSLE) is constructed for any limited ocean region and/or the global ocean by considering the mass conservation equation with compressible effects and a linear equation of state. The MSLE contains buoyancy fluxes terms representing the steric effects and the mass flux is represented by surface water fluxes and volume transport terms. The MSLE is studied for the Mediterranean Sea case using a simulation experiment for the decade 1999–2008. It is found that the Mediterranean MSL tendency is made of a steric contribution that is almost periodic in time superimposed on a stochastic-like signal due to the mass balance, dominating the MSL tendency. The MSL tendency stochastic-like term is a result of the imbalance between the volume flux at Gibraltar and the area average surface water flux.