Open Access
River-discharge effects on United States Atlantic and Gulf coast sea-level changes
Christopher G. Piecuch,Andrew Kemp,Klaus Bittermann,Rui M. Ponte,Christopher M. Little,Simon E. Engelhart,Steven J. Lentz +6 more
- Vol. 2018
TLDR
In this paper, the authors explore the relation between observed river discharge and sea level on the United States Atlantic and Gulf coasts over interannual and longer periods, and show that river-discharge and sea-level changes are significantly correlated, such that sea level rises between 0.01 and 0.08 cm for a 1 km3 annual river discharge increase, depending on region.Abstract:
Significance River discharge exerts an important influence on coastal ocean circulation but has been overlooked as a driver of historical coastal sea-level change and future coastal flood risk. We explore the relation between observed river discharge and sea level on the United States Atlantic and Gulf coasts over interannual and longer periods. We formulate a theory that predicts the observed correspondence between river discharge and sea level, demonstrating a causal relation between the two variables. Our results highlight a significant but overlooked driver of coastal sea level, indicating the need for (1) improved resolution in remote sensing and modeling of the coastal zone and (2) inclusion of realistic river runoff variability in climate models. Identifying physical processes responsible for historical coastal sea-level changes is important for anticipating future impacts. Recent studies sought to understand the drivers of interannual to multidecadal sea-level changes on the United States Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Ocean dynamics, terrestrial water storage, vertical land motion, and melting of land ice were highlighted as important mechanisms of sea-level change along this densely populated coast on these time scales. While known to exert an important control on coastal ocean circulation, variable river discharge has been absent from recent discussions of drivers of sea-level change. We update calculations from the 1970s, comparing annual river-discharge and coastal sea-level data along the Gulf of Maine, Mid-Atlantic Bight, South Atlantic Bight, and Gulf of Mexico during 1910–2017. We show that river-discharge and sea-level changes are significantly correlated (p<0.01), such that sea level rises between 0.01 and 0.08 cm for a 1 km3 annual river-discharge increase, depending on region. We formulate a theory that describes the relation between river-discharge and halosteric sea-level changes (i.e., changes in sea level related to salinity) as a function of river discharge, Earth’s rotation, and density stratification. This theory correctly predicts the order of observed increment sea-level change per unit river-discharge anomaly, suggesting a causal relation. Our results have implications for remote sensing, climate modeling, interpreting Common Era proxy sea-level reconstructions, and projecting coastal flood risk.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
Understanding of Contemporary Regional Sea-Level Change and the Implications for the Future
Benjamin D. Hamlington,Alex S. Gardner,Erik R. Ivins,Jan T. M. Lenaerts,John T. Reager,David S. Trossman,Edward D. Zaron,Surendra Adhikari,Anthony Arendt,Andy Aschwanden,Brian D. Beckley,David Bekaert,Geoffrey Blewitt,Lambert Caron,Don P. Chambers,H. A. Chandanpurkar,Knut Christianson,Beata Csatho,Richard I. Cullather,Robert M. DeConto,John T. Fasullo,Thomas Frederikse,Jeffrey T. Freymueller,Daniel M. Gilford,Manuela Girotto,William C. Hammond,Regine Hock,Nicholas Holschuh,Robert E. Kopp,Felix W. Landerer,Eric Larour,Dimitris Menemenlis,Mark A. Merrifield,Jerry X. Mitrovica,R. Steven Nerem,Isabel Nias,Isabel Nias,Veronica Nieves,Sophie Nowicki,Kishore Pangaluru,Christopher G. Piecuch,Richard D. Ray,David R. Rounce,Nicole Schlegel,Helene Seroussi,Manoochehr Shirzaei,William Sweet,Isabella Velicogna,Nadya T. Vinogradova,Thomas Wahl,David N. Wiese,Michael J. Willis +51 more
TL;DR: An overview of the current state of understanding of the processes that cause regional sea-level change is provided and areas where the lack of understanding or gaps in knowledge inhibit the ability to provide the needed information for comprehensive planning efforts are identified.
Journal ArticleDOI
Usable Science for Managing the Risks of Sea-Level Rise.
Robert E. Kopp,Elisabeth A. Gilmore,Christopher M. Little,Jorge Lorenzo-Trueba,Victoria C. Ramenzoni,William Sweet +5 more
TL;DR: Addressing these issues demands a better understanding of the coupled interactions of mean and extreme sea levels, coastal geomorphology, economics, and migration; decision‐first approaches that identify and focus research upon those scientific uncertainties most relevant to concrete adaptation choices; and a political economy that allows usable science to become used science.
Journal ArticleDOI
Probabilistic Sea Level Projections at the Coast by 2100
Svetlana Jevrejeva,Thomas Frederikse,Robert E. Kopp,G. Le Cozannet,Luke Jackson,R. S. W. van de Wal +5 more
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present recent developments in the probabilistic projections of coastal mean sea level rise by 2100, which provides a summary assessment of the relevant uncertainties and highlights the importance of the decision frameworks adopted by coastal engineers for infrastructure design and land use planning.
Journal ArticleDOI
The relationship between U.S. East Coast Sea Level and the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation: A review
Christopher M. Little,Aixue Hu,Chris W. Hughes,Chris W. Hughes,Gerard McCarthy,Christopher G. Piecuch,Rui M. Ponte,Matthew D. Thomas +7 more
TL;DR: Research is reviewed, finding consistent support in numerical models for an antiphase relationship between AMOC strength and dynamic sea level, however, simulations exhibit substantial along‐coast and intermodel differences in the amplitude of AMOC‐associated dynamic sealevel variability.
Journal ArticleDOI
Towards comprehensive observing and modeling systems for monitoring and predicting regional to coastal sea level
Rui M. Ponte,Mark Carson,Mauro Cirano,Catia M. Domingues,Svetlana Jevrejeva,Marta Marcos,Gary T. Mitchum,R. S. W. van de Wal,Philip L. Woodworth,Michael Ablain,Fabrice Ardhuin,Valérie Ballu,Melanie Becker,Jérôme Benveniste,Florence Birol,Elizabeth Bradshaw,Anny Cazenave,P. De Mey-Frémaux,Fabien Durand,Tal Ezer,Lee-Lueng Fu,Ichiro Fukumori,Kathy Gordon,Médéric Gravelle,Stephen M. Griffies,Weiqing Han,Angela Hibbert,Chris W. Hughes,Déborah Idier,Villy Kourafalou,Christopher M. Little,Andrew Matthews,Angélique Melet,Mark A. Merrifield,Benoit Meyssignac,Shoshiro Minobe,Thierry Penduff,Nicolas Picot,Christopher G. Piecuch,Richard D. Ray,Lesley Rickards,Alvaro Santamaría-Gómez,Detlef Stammer,Joanna Staneva,Laurent Testut,Laurent Testut,Keith R. Thompson,Philip R. Thompson,Stefano Vignudelli,Joanne Williams,Simon D. P. Williams,Guy Wöppelmann,Laure Zanna,Xuebin Zhang +53 more
TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess current understanding of the causes of coastal SL variability on seasonal to multi-decadal timescales, including geodetic, oceanographic and atmospheric aspects of the problem, and review available observing systems informing on coastal SL.
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