Oceanic control of sea level rise patterns along the East Coast of the United States

Yin, Jingxue; Goddard, Paul B

doi:10.1002/2013gl057992

Cited by 118 publications

(113 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…4a) and an extreme negative NAO index 27 . Both winds 20,23,25 and the AMOC 4,5,18,21 can cause sealevel variability and change along the NE coast of North America on various time scales. After removing the seasonal cycle, the monthly NE sea-level composite shows a good correlation (R ¼ 0.78; 2-month lag) with the AMOC index (Fig.…”

Section: Tg Records Sea Level Along the East Coast Of The United Stamentioning

confidence: 99%

An extreme event of sea-level rise along the Northeast coast of North America in 2009–2010

et al. 2015

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The coastal sea levels along the Northeast Coast of North America show significant yearto-year fluctuations in a general upward trend. The analysis of long-term tide gauge records identified an extreme sea-level rise (SLR) event during 2009-10. Within this 2-year period, the coastal sea level north of New York City jumped by 128 mm. This magnitude of interannual SLR is unprecedented (a 1-in-850 year event) during the entire history of the tide gauge records. Here we show that this extreme SLR event is a combined effect of two factors: an observed 30% downturn of the Atlantic meridional overturning circulation during 2009-10, and a significant negative North Atlantic Oscillation index. The extreme nature of the 2009-10 SLR event suggests that such a significant downturn of the Atlantic overturning circulation is very unusual. During the twenty-first century, climate models project an increase in magnitude and frequency of extreme interannual SLR events along this densely populated coast.

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Section: Tg Records Sea Level Along the East Coast Of The United Stamentioning

confidence: 99%

An extreme event of sea-level rise along the Northeast coast of North America in 2009–2010

et al. 2015

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“…Surv Geophys (2017) 38:217-250 231 Recently, accelerated SLR along the US northeast coast, particularly in the ''hotspot'' from Cape Hatteras to Cape Cod since the 1950s, has been detected using tide gauge observations (Sallenger et al 2012). The weakened transport of the Gulf Stream, the upper branch of the AMOC, and the northward shift of the Gulf Stream during recent decades (Ezer 2013;Ezer et al 2013;Yin and Goddard 2013) have been suggested to be the cause. The Gulf Stream sustains a sharp sea level gradient associated with geostrophic balance, suppressing sea level along the Atlantic coast by 1-1.5 m relative to the open ocean east of the Stream.…”

Section: Subtropical Dipole and Sea Level Patternsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spatial Patterns of Sea Level Variability Associated with Natural Internal Climate Modes

et al. 2016

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Sea level rise (SLR) can exert significant stress on highly populated coastal societies and low-lying island countries around the world. Because of this, there is huge societal demand for improved decadal predictions and future projections of SLR, particularly on a local scale along coastlines. Regionally, sea level variations can deviate considerably from the global mean due to various geophysical processes. These include changes of ocean circulations, which partially can be attributed to natural, internal modes of variability in the complex Earth's climate system. Anthropogenic influence may also contribute to regional sea level variations. Separating the effects of natural climate modes and anthropogenic forcing, however, remains a challenge and requires identification of the imprint of specific climate modes in observed sea level change patterns. In this paper, we review our current state of knowledge about spatial patterns of sea level variability associated with natural climate modes on interannual-to-multidecadal timescales, with particular focus on decadal-to-multidecadal variability. Relevant climate modes and our current state of understanding their associated sea level patterns and driving mechanisms are elaborated separately for the Pacific, the Indian, the Atlantic, and the Arctic and Southern Oceans. We also discuss the issues, challenges and future outlooks for understanding the regional sea level patterns associated with climate modes. Effects of these internal modes have to be taken into account in order to achieve more reliable near-term predictions and future projections of regional SLR.

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“…This topic has also enjoyed renewed interest over the last decade, owing to concerns over global climate change and the possibility that the ocean circulation will change and coastal sea level will rise (e.g., Levermann et al 2005;Landerer et al 2007;Vellinga and Wood 2008;Yin et al 2009). Based on geostrophic considerations and freshwater hosing experiments performed with a coarse-resolution model, Levermann et al (2005) reason that a 1-Sverdrup (Sv; 1 Sv [ 10 6 m 3 s…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Annual Sea Level Changes on the North American Northeast Coast: Influence of Local Winds and Barotropic Motions

et al. 2016

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Understanding the relationship between coastal sea level and the variable ocean circulation is crucial for interpreting tide gauge records and projecting sea level rise. In this study, annual sea level records (adjusted for the inverted barometer effect) from tide gauges along the North American northeast coast over 1980-2010 are compared to a set of data-assimilating ocean reanalysis products as well as a global barotropic model solution forced with wind stress and barometric pressure. Correspondence between models and data depends strongly on model and location. At sites north of Cape Hatteras, the barotropic model shows as much (if not more) skill than ocean reanalyses, explaining about 50% of the variance in the adjusted annual tide gauge sea level records. Additional numerical experiments show that annual sea level changes along this coast from the barotropic model are driven by local wind stress over the continental shelf and slope. This result is interpreted in the light of a simple dynamic framework, wherein bottom friction balances surface wind stress in the alongshore direction and geostrophy holds in the across-shore direction. Results highlight the importance of barotropic dynamics on coastal sea level changes on interannual and decadal time scales; they also have implications for diagnosing the uncertainties in current ocean reanalyses, using tide gauge records to infer past changes in ocean circulation, and identifying the physical mechanisms responsible for projected future regional sea level rise.

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Oceanic control of sea level rise patterns along the East Coast of the United States

Cited by 118 publications

References 33 publications

An extreme event of sea-level rise along the Northeast coast of North America in 2009–2010

An extreme event of sea-level rise along the Northeast coast of North America in 2009–2010

Spatial Patterns of Sea Level Variability Associated with Natural Internal Climate Modes

Annual Sea Level Changes on the North American Northeast Coast: Influence of Local Winds and Barotropic Motions

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