Abstract's details
A new dataset of relative sea level measurements created using Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers
CoAuthors
Event: 2023 Ocean Surface Topography Science Team Meeting
Session: Outreach, Education and Altimetric Data Services
Presentation type: Type Oral
Contribution: PDF file
Abstract:
The Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) is the internationally recognised global sea level data bank for long term sea level change information from tide gauges, responsible for the collection, publication, analysis and interpretation of sea level data. There is a need both for more records in data sparse regions such as Antarctica, the Arctic and Africa, and for a low cost method for monitoring climate change through sea level.
While tide gauge sensors themselves are not very expensive, the costs in operating them over a long period of time can be considerable. Sensors based in the water are prone to biofouling, and can require divers to access. Meanwhile, land based sensors are exposed to damage from accidents, storms, and vandalism.
The emerging field of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems, such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou) interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) provides an alternative way to measure sea level. Permanent GNSS receivers are routinely installed near the coast to monitor land movements, and we can infer sea level by comparing the direct signal to a GNSS with those reflected off the surface of the water. GNSS-IR does not yet match the accuracy of traditional tide gauges, but has the potential to be part of an affordable, effective monitoring system of water levels.
A GNSS-IR tide gauge also has the benefit of built in datum control through the direct GNSS channel, providing long term monitoring of vertical movement at the site that also provides a link to the reference ellipsoid.
Here we present a new data portal of sea level measurements extracted from GNSS data as part of the EuroSea project. So far, this dataset consists of nearly 300 sites, but we regularly add new sites as we discover them. We will discuss what data and information can be found on the portal, and our plans to expand it in the future.
While tide gauge sensors themselves are not very expensive, the costs in operating them over a long period of time can be considerable. Sensors based in the water are prone to biofouling, and can require divers to access. Meanwhile, land based sensors are exposed to damage from accidents, storms, and vandalism.
The emerging field of GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems, such as GPS, GLONASS, Galileo and BeiDou) interferometric reflectometry (GNSS-IR) provides an alternative way to measure sea level. Permanent GNSS receivers are routinely installed near the coast to monitor land movements, and we can infer sea level by comparing the direct signal to a GNSS with those reflected off the surface of the water. GNSS-IR does not yet match the accuracy of traditional tide gauges, but has the potential to be part of an affordable, effective monitoring system of water levels.
A GNSS-IR tide gauge also has the benefit of built in datum control through the direct GNSS channel, providing long term monitoring of vertical movement at the site that also provides a link to the reference ellipsoid.
Here we present a new data portal of sea level measurements extracted from GNSS data as part of the EuroSea project. So far, this dataset consists of nearly 300 sites, but we regularly add new sites as we discover them. We will discuss what data and information can be found on the portal, and our plans to expand it in the future.