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Sea-level Indicators

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Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs

Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

Sea level is the local height of the ocean’s surface, usually measured to a datum referenced to a tidal position established from a record in which high-frequency motions such as wind waves and periodic changes (e.g., due to the tides) have been averaged out. Local sea level fluctuates regularly with tides and irregularly in response to factors including wind and currents, water temperatures and salinities, and atmospheric pressure.

Relative sea levelis the elevation of the sea surface relative to the land at a given location. Global or eustatic sea-level fluctuations occur as the volume of water in the earth’s oceans changes when ice caps and glaciers grow or melt, or as large-scale changes in the configuration of ocean basins and continental margins occur through plate tectonics. There are also regional and local isostatic processes that produce spatially different patterns of relative sea-level change, including thermal expansion of surface waters, changes in meltwater...

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  1. School of Earth and Environmental Sciences, James Cook University, Townsville, QLD, 4811, Australia

    Scott Smithers

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  1. James Cook University, Townsville, Australia

    David Hopley

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Smithers, S. (2011). Sea-level Indicators. In: Hopley, D. (eds) Encyclopedia of Modern Coral Reefs. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-2639-2_24

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