Sea Level Changes of China Seas and Neighboring Ocean Based on Satellite Altimetry Missions from 1993 to 2012

The latest satellite altimetry data of TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P), Jason-1 and Jason-2 during the formation flight phase were analyzed. The average difference of sea level anomaly (SLA) was 9.72cm between Jason-1 and T/P, and -11.03 cm between Jason-2 and Jason-1 over the China seas and neighboring ocean. Then SLA time series from 1993 to 2012 were constructed and analyzed with the least squares method. In China seas and neighboring ocean, the average rising rate of sea surface height was about 4.64 mm/yr. The specific average rising rates were 4.44 mm/yr, 2.34 mm/yr, 3.02 mm/yr and 4.25 mm/yr in Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea, East China Sea and South China Sea, respectively. The cycles of sea level changes were also analyzed with wavelet analysis, and results showed that the most significant period of sea level change over each sea was 1 year. A quasi-nine-year cycle was also found over the South China Sea.