The Black Sea Level Trends from Tide Gages and Satellite Altimetry

A. A. Kubryakov and S. V. Stanichnyi

Obtained are the estimates of the Black Sea level trends for the period of 1992–2005 as derived from the tide-gage and satellite altimetry data. An estimated rate of the mean sea level rate calculated from the averaged altimetry data is 7.6 ± 0.3 mm/year that is by 2–3 times higher than the estimates for the previous periods. Such high values of the trend are evidently associated with the sea level variability features at the 10-year temporal scale. The Black Sea level trend is characterized by the high spatial variability: it amounts to 8–9.5 mm/year in the coastal areas of the Black Sea basin that exceeds the trend in the deep-water part by 1.5–2 times (4.5–6 mm/year). Such distribution is an effect of the cyclonic Rim Current intensification. Based on the difference in the sea level trends obtained from in-situ and altimetry measurements, the velocity of the vertical crustal motion is estimated for the Ukrainian coastal stations of the Black Sea.