Understanding Sealevel Rise and Variability

1
Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability

• Proposed Workshop Objectives Given the present
  and projected future rates of global sea-level
  rise, and the associated variability ranging from
  long to short timescales
• Identify the factors contributing to the observed
  sea level rise and variability, as well as that
  projected in the future.
• Organize a systematic attack on the error budget
  
• Identify the major sources of uncertainty for
  each
• What can be done to reduce each of these
  uncertainties?
• In order to reduce the error budget, identify
  associated requirements for
• New and/or augmented research,
• New and/or augmented technical development, and
• The collection of sustained, systematic
  observations

2
Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability

• The major output from the workshop would be a
  WCRP report summarizing
• the current state of the science,
• an outline of future research requirements for
  improving our understanding of sea-level rise and
  variability and
• a description of the observational requirements
  (both experimental and sustained systematic
  observations).

3
Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability

• The Report would contain sections on requirements
  for improving present estimates and future
  projections of
• sea-level rise and variability,
• ocean thermal expansion,
• non-polar glacier contributions,
• ice sheet contributions,
• vertical motion due to glacial isostatic
  adjustments and tectonic motions,
• terrestrial (including anthropogenic) water
  storage contributions,
• changes in the frequency/intensity of extreme
  events, and
• changes in surface waves, ocean swell, etc.

4
Understanding Sea-level Rise and Variability

• Steering Committee Co-Chairs
• John Church CSIRO Vice Chair, JSC Australia
• Philip Woodworth Chair, IAPSO CMSLT Director,
  PSMSL UK
• Stan Wilson NOAA, USA
• Date late 2005, early 2006
• Location IOC, Paris
• Sponsorship
• WMO, IOC, JCOMM, GLOSS
• WCRP
• ICSU/SCOR
• IAPSO CMSLT
• etc