Spatial and Temporal Features of Regional Variations in Mean Sea Level around Taiwan.

Abstract

Satellite altimeter and in-situ tide gauge records are probably the most common means to obtain observational data for the study of changes in mean sea level. In this study, we employed these data to discuss the spatial and temporal features of regional variations in mean sea level around Taiwan. The results showed that most of the regional mean sea surface heights (SSH) around Taiwan are higher than the global mean sea surface heights. Most of the sea level trends are greater than the global mean sea level trend as well. We obtained diverse distribution results from the altimeter sea level records in neighboring areas by distributions fit, and the altimeter sea level records showed obvious inhomogeneity. In addition, periodic fluctuations in the records regarding mean sea level were revealed in our study, based on Fourier spectra and wavelet scalograms.