Advances in the observation and understanding of changes in sea level and tides

Abstract

Climate change, of which sea level change is one component, is seldom out of the news. This paper reviews developments in the measurement and understanding of changes in sea level and tides, focusing on the changes during the past century. The main aim has been to demonstrate how sea level and tidal science are now connected intimately with the fields of climate change and geodesy. K E Y W O R D Sextreme sea levels, MSL changes, ocean circulation variability, ocean tides and their changes, sea level and geodesy, vertical land movements 48

Tidal science before and after Newton

“…But to return to Kircher, one aspect of tides for which he does deserve credit is his suggestion of the use of a float and stilling well for tidal measurements, a simple technology that remains in use at many locations around the world (Woodworth, 2022). A drawing can be found in Book 3 of the Mundus Subterraneus (Fig.…”

Data rescue process in the context of sea level reconstructions: An overview of the methodology, lessons learned, up‐to‐date best practices and recommendations

“…The objectives of this network were to meet hydrographic needs (datum definition) and to use sea level measurements to predict tides and construct tide tables. The development of a self-registering float tide gauge with stilling wells in the mid-19th century was a major technological improvement in water level measurements (Woodworth, 2021). Improvements continued in the 20th century with pressure and later radar tide gauge technology.…”