Satellite derived sea level updated- short term trend has been shrinking since 2005

5 12 2008

We’ve been waiting for the UC web page to be updated with the most recent sea level data. It finally has been updated for 2008. It looks like the steady upward trend of sea level as measured by satellite has stumbled since 2005. The 60 day line in blue tells the story.

University of Colorado, Boulder

Source: University of Colorado, Boulder

From the University of Colorado web page:

Since August 1992 the satellite altimeters have been measuring sea level on a global basis with unprecedented accuracy. The TOPEX/POSEIDON (T/P) satellite mission provided observations of sea level change from 1992 until 2005. Jason-1, launched in late 2001 as the successor to T/P, continues this record by providing an estimate of global mean sea level every 10 days with an uncertainty of 3-4 mm.

They also say:

Long-term mean sea level change is a variable of considerable interest in the studies of global climate change. The measurement of long-term changes in global mean sea level can provide an important corroboration of predictions by climate models of global warming. Long term sea level variations are primarily determined with two different methods.

Yes, I would agree, it is indeed a variable of considerable interest. The question now is, how is it linked to global climate change (aka global warming) if CO2 continues to increase, and sea level does not?

There’s an interesting event in October 2005 that I’ll come back to in a couple of days.

(h/t to Mike Bryant)





RSS for November is out, up slightly

5 12 2008

rss-nov08-520
Click for a larger image

RSS Data Source is here

The RSS (Remote Sensing Systems of Santa Rosa, CA) Microwave Sounder Unit (MSU) lower troposphere global temperature anomaly data for November 2008 was published today and has risen slightly. This is the new data version, 3.2  which changed in October.  The change from October with a value of 0.181°C (V3.2) to November 0.216°C is a (∆T) of  +0.035°C

RSS
2008 1 -0.070
2008 2 -0.002
2008 3   0.079
2008 4   0.080
2008 5 -0.083
2008 6  0.035
2008 7  0.147
2008 8 0.146
2008 9 0.241 (V3.1)
2008 10 0.181 (V3.2)
2008 11 0.216 (V3.2)