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The geopotential-value approach is utilized in this study to estimate the average offsets of local vertical datums (LVDs) in New Zealand realized in the system of normal-orthometric heights. The LVD offsets are taken relative to the World Height System (WHS). We adopt the geoidal geopotential value W 0 =62,636,856 m 2 s −2 for a definition of WHS. The conversion of heights between different permanent tide systems is taken into consideration. The geopotential-value approach utilizes Molodensky's theory of the normal heights. The normal-orthometric heights at global positioning system (GPS)-leveling points are thus first converted to the normal heights. The normal to normal-orthometric height correction is computed and applied along the leveling lines using the leveling data, and the gravity disturbances are computed approximately from the EGM08 global geopotential model. The numerical study is conducted for 18 LVDs in the North and South Islands of New Zealand. The LVD offsets are estimated from EGM08 to GPS-leveling data. The estimated average LVD offsets vary between 1 cm (Wellington 1953 LVD) and 37 cm (One Tree Point 1964 LVD).

Abstract:The unification of levelling networks in New Zealand is done using a combined approach. It utilises the joint levelling network adjustment and the geopotential-value approach. The levelling and normal gravity data are used for a joint adjustment of the levelling networks at the South and North Islands of New Zealand while fixing the heights of tide gauges in Dunedin and Wellington. The results reveal a good quality of levelling data; the STD of residuals is 2 mm for the whole country. The comparison of the newly determined and original normal-orthometric heights confirms the presence of large local vertical datum offsets and systematic levelling errors. Since the geopotential-value approach is based on the Molodensky's theory, the newly adjusted normal-orthometric heights are converted to the normal heights. This conversion is based on applying the cumulative normal to normal-orthometric height correction computed from levelling and gravity anomaly data. In the absence of the observed gravity data the gravity anomalies along levelling lines are generated from EGM2008. The GPS-levelling data and EGM2008 are used to estimate the average offsets of the jointly adjusted levelling networks at the North and South Islands with respect to World Height System defined by the adopted geoidal geopotential value of W 0 = 62636856 ± 0 5 m 2 s −2 ; the estimated offsets are 10.6 cm and 27.5 cm. we refer readers to Gilliland (1987). The LVDs were defined in the system of the (approximate) normal-orthometric heights.The cumulative normal-orthometric correction to levelled height differences was defined based on the GRS67 normal gravity field parameters and computed approximately using a truncated form of the GRS67 normal-orthometric correction formula (Rapp, 1961).Since LVDs were referenced to the local mean sea level (

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<p>Sea-level change is geographically non-uniform, with regional departures that can reach several times the global average. Characterizing this spatial variability and understanding its causes is crucial to the design of adaptation strategies for sea-level rise. This, as it turns out, is no easy feat, primarily due to the sparseness of the observational sea-level record in time and space. Long tide gauge records are restricted to a few locations along the coast. Satellite altimetry offers a better spatial coverage but only since 1992. In the Mediterranean Sea, the tide gauge network is heavily biased towards the European shorelines, with only one record with at least 35 years of data on the African coasts. Past studies have attempted to address the difficulties related to this data sparseness in the Mediterranean Sea by combining the available tide gauge records with satellite altimetry observations. The vast majority of such studies represent sea level through a combination of altimetry-derived empirical orthogonal functions whose temporal amplitudes are then inferred from the tide gauge data. Such methods, however, have tremendous difficulty in separating trends and variability, make no distinction between relative and geocentric sea level, and tell us nothing about the causes of sea level changes. Here, we combine observational data from tide gauges and altimetry with sea-level fingerprints of land-mass changes through a Bayesian hierarchical model to quanify the sources of sea-level rise since 1960 at any arbitrary location in the Mediterranean Sea. We find that Mediterranean sea level rose at a relatively low rate from 1960 to 1990, primarily due to dynamic sea-level changes in the nearby Atlantic, at which point it started rising significantly faster with comparable contributions from dynamic sea level and land-mass changes.</p>