G21B-0447:
A recent increase in the rate of Indian Ocean sea level change
Tuesday, 16 December 2014
Philip R Thompson, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Honolulu, HI, United States and Mark A Merrifield, Sch Ocean & Earth Sci & Tech, Honolulu, HI, United States
Abstract:
Decadal rates of sea surface height (SSH) change measured by satellites (1993-present) north of 20°S in the Indian Ocean increase substantially after the turn of the century. In contrast, the increase in the sea surface temperature of the region is approximately linear. This increase in Indian Ocean rates of SSH change appears to be thermosteric in origin, but it is not accounted for variability in Pacific climate indices. We find the GECCO2 simulation (1948-2011) reproduces the SSH variability in this region to good approximation, and we use the model fields to diagnose the origin of the increase in the rate of Indian Ocean SSH change and to place the recent variability in historical context.
