Sea level rise in the north-western part of the Arabian Gulf

• Published in: Journal of geodynamics Vol. 81; pp. 105 - 110
• Main Authors: Alothman, A.O., Bos, M.S., Fernandes, R.M.S., Ayhan, M.E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Ltd 01.11.2014
• Subjects: Arabian Gulf; Correlation; Gages; Gauges; GNSS; Sea level; Sea level change; Stations; Temporal logic; Tides; Sea level change; GNSS; Arabian Gulf
• ISSN: 0264-3707
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jog.2014.09.002

•28.7 years of tide gauge data in the Arabian Gulf were analyzed.•Previous studies underestimate the true sea level rate error by a factor of 5–10.•Six GPS stations in the area show a mean subsidence rate of 0.7mm/year.•For the period 1979–2007 an absolute sea level rate of 1.89±0.8mm/year was obtained. Relative sea level variations in the north-western part of the Arabian Gulf have been estimated in the past using no more than 10 to 15 years of observations. In this study, we have almost doubled the period to 28.7 years by examining all available tide gauge data in the area and constructing a mean gauge time-series from seven coastal tide gauges. We found for the period 1979–2007 a relative sea level rise of 2.2±0.5mm/year. Using the subsidence observed at 6GPS stations within a radius of 100km of the tide gauges as an indication of the vertical land motion, the corresponding absolute sea level rise is 1.5±0.8mm/year that is in agreement with the global estimate of 1.9±0.1mm/year (Church and White, 2011) for the same studied period. By taking into account the temporal correlations we conclude that previous published results underestimate the true sea level rate uncertainty in this area by a factor of 5–10.