Mean sea-level variability along the northeast American Atlantic coast and the roles of the wind and the overturning circulation

Woodworth, PL, Maqueda, MÁM, Roussenov, VM ORCID: 0000-0003-4128-9712, Williams, RG and Hughes, CW ORCID: 0000-0002-9355-0233 (2014) Mean sea-level variability along the northeast American Atlantic coast and the roles of the wind and the overturning circulation Journal of Geophysical Research Oceans, 119 (12). pp. 8916-8935. ISSN 2169-9275, 2169-9291

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Abstract

The variability in mean sea level (MSL) during 1950-2009 along the northeast American Atlantic coast north of Cape Hatteras has been studied, using data from tide gauges and satellite altimetry and information from the Liverpool/Hadley Centre (LHC) ocean model, thereby providing new insights into the spatial and temporal scales of the variability. Although a relationship between sea level and the overturning circulation can be identified (an increase of approximately 1.5 cm in MSL for a decrease of 1 Sv in overturning transport), it is the effect of the nearshore wind forcing on the shelf that is found to dominate the interannual sea-level variability. In particular, winds are found to be capable of producing low-frequency changes in MSL ("accelerations") in a narrow coastal band, comparable to those observed by the tide gauges. Evidence is presented supporting the idea of a "'common mode" of spatially coherent low-frequency MSL variability, both to the north and south of Cape Hatteras and throughout the northwest Atlantic, which is associated with large spatial-scale density changes from year to year.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sea-level variability, wind forcing, shelf circulation, meridional overturning circulation
Subjects:	?? GC ?? ?? QC ??
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	22 Jul 2015 10:36
Last Modified:	01 Mar 2026 04:39
DOI:	10.1002/2014JC010520
Related Websites:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/2017090
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