DATE2016-05-19 14:15:39
IDABSTRACT20160519141539-0977
CONTACTmnt@soton.ac.uk
PRESENTATIONORAL-PLENARY
INVITED0
IDSESSION4
TITLEMEDITERRANEAN SEA LEVEL CHANCE: EITHER TOO HIGH OR TOO LOW.
AUTHORSMichael Tsimplis (1), Adrian Martinez-asensio (1), Francisco Calafat (1)
AFFILIATIONS
  1. University Of Southampton Southampton (United Kingdom)
ABSTRACTMediterranean Sea level has been evolving differently from global sea level. Determined by local factors as well as global contributions it shows significant differences both from sea level changes in the Northern coasts of Europe and the global sea level tendencies. By using global sea level reconstructions as a reference of global steric and mass addition forcing we explore the time evolution of sea level in the Mediterranean Sea from tide-gauges and altimetry. Significant alteration of behaviour is noted and whereas before the 1990s the Mediterranean Sea level was stagnant it increases faster than the global average in the recent decades. The vulnerability of the Mediterranean coasts to such rates of rise is explored by taking into account the tidal range and the sea level extremes available from observations and model observations. The Mediterranean coasts are found to be significantly more vulnerable to sea level rise than most other European coasts.
PAGE95
STATE1