Study on the sea level rise and the loading deformation in the shallow
seas of northern Australia using geodetic techniques
Abstract
The northern shallow seas of Australia exhibit significant interannual
mass variation characteristics. The sources and physical mechanisms
underlying these variations are not fully understood and warrant further
investigation. To this end, we utilized satellite gravity, satellite
altimetry, and Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) to study and
analyze sea level changes and their loading effects in this region from
2003 to 2022. The results indicate that sea levels in the northwestern
sea and the Gulf of Carpentaria (GOC) have been continuously rising,
primarily due to the increase in ocean water mass (0.37±0.05 cm/a and
0.43±0.07 cm/a, respectively). The contribution of oceanbottom
deformation caused by mass changes to sea level rise accounted for 4%
and 5%, respectively. However, using reanalysis products to study the
steric sea level results in significant errors, leading to an
underestimation of the annual amplitude by 63%. Monsoons and monsoon
rainfall drive the increase in water mass in GOC, while ocean currents
outside the GOC also significantly influence the mass changes, with an
annual total outflow flux of 72.09 Gt. We also found that a single GNSS
station on island within the GOC can effectively capture the seasonal
and interannual water mass variations in GOC. For seasonal changes, the
correlation between vertical displacement and gulf mass variation
reached 0.90, and the station was able to recover 72.7% of the
interannual amplitude of long-term ocean mass changes in the GOC.