Sea level changes at Tenerife Island (NE Tropical Atlantic) since 1927

Abstract

Hourly sea level observations measured by five tide gauges at Santa Cruz harbor (Tenerife Island), in the Northeastern Tropical Atlantic, have been merged to build a consistent and almost continuous sea level record starting in 1927. Datum continuity was ensured using high precision leveling information. The time series underwent a detailed quality control in order to remove outliers, time drifts, and datum shifts. The resulting sea level record was then used to describe the low frequency (interannual to decadal) sea level variability at Tenerife. It was found that at interannual and longer time scales, the observed sea level changes are primarily driven by steric sea level variations. Such steric changes are originated by coastal trapped waves induced by longshore winds along the continental coast and propagate poleward. Observed sea level rise at Tenerife was 2.09?±?0.04 mm/yr since 1927. According to the hydrographic observations in the area, only half of this trend was attributed to steric sea level changes for the top 500 m, at least since 1950.

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