The sea level variation/change on different time scales in the East China Sea (ECS) is investigated based on the TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) altimetric data from 1993 through 2003. The averaged rising rate of the sea level and the steric sea level in the ECS are 4.93 mm/yr and 3.18 mm/yr respectively, which suggests that the contribution of steric sea level rise can be 64.5%. The saline contribution to steric sea level is 40%. From 1950 through 2003, the steric sea level of the ECS rises at a rate of 0.50 mm/yr with a significant period of 18-year, and the saline contribution was close to 25%. EOF analysis of the altimeter data indicates a quasi-biennial sea level oscillation in the ECS, which is mainly affected by the fluctuation of the bimodality path of the Kuroshio and the discharge of the Yangtze River. Generally, the steric effect dominates the seasonal variability of the sea level, but in the interannual time scale, mean sea level change is closely associated with the dynamic influence of the Kuroshio and the runoff of the Yangtze River.

INTRODUCTION

The sea level change is a consequence of two major effects in the oceans. One is the eustatic sea level change caused by the variation of the sea water mass which is associated with land ice melting and terrestrial water storage change, and the other is the steric sea level change due to the variation of the sea water density under the circumstance of quality conservation, which can be caused by both the changes of temperature and salinity. Zuo et al. (1996) obtained the mean rate of sea level rise in the Pacific is 0.17cm/yr and the sea level of the coastal area in the Pacific Ocean is rising acceleratively as a whole.

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