Barystatic and manometric sea level changes from satellite geodesy

Barystatic and manometric sea level changes represent the mass component of sea level changes at global and regional scales respectively. Barystatic and manometric sea level changes are estimated here using two different approaches:

• satellite gravimetry measurements from the GRACE and GRACE-FO missions
• a sea level budget approach combining satellite altimetry with in-situ measurements of the seawater temperature and salinity.

The satellite gravimetry solutions were calculated using an ensemble approach updated from Blazquez et al., (2018) (GRACE ensemble L3 V2.1 : webpage in development), allowing the estimation of uncertainties associated with processing and post-processing choices. The sea level budget approach was adapted from Barnoud et al., (2023).

Barystatic sea level changes

Barystatic sea level changes are due to freshwater exchanges with the continents, including ice mass changes from Greenland, Antarctica and continental glaciers, as well as freshwater fluxes from continental areas (i.e. large river basins such as the Amazon). Here, barystatic sea level changes estimated with satellite gravimetry are compared with the sea level budget approach, showing remarkable consistency (Figure 1). Barystatic sea level changes from satellite gravimetry are found to be highly sensitive to post-processing corrections, such as the geocenter and glacial isostatic adjustment, with the change of geocenter solution in version 2.1 of the ensemble providing a better fit to the SLBC approach.

Manometric sea level changes

Manometric sea level changes are due to several processes, including the atmosphere - ocean circulation, sea level fingerprints and the global water cycle. Climate modes, such as the El Nino Southern Oscillation, Arctic Oscillation, North Atlantic Oscillation or Southern Annular Mode, also significantly influence manometric sea level changes (e.g. Pfeffer et al., 2022).

The trends in manometric sea level changes and their uncertainties are shown for the satellite gravimetry approach (Figure 2). Manometric sea level variations and their uncertainties are not provided for the SLBC approach, due to the high uncertainties associated with the drift of the halosteric component (see Barnoud et al. 2021, Bouih et al., 2025 for more details). As things stand, this product continues to be analyzed to ensure its relevance. 
The trends derived from the GRACE gravimetry approach remain in good agreement with previous products. The change in geocenter considered in the L3 V2.1 ensemble reduces uncertainties in the manometric trends.

Barystatic and manometric products

In total, 3 products are distributed including:

• Barystatic sea level changes from satellite gravimetry with uncertainties at 1-sigma: monthly time series from April 2002 to August 2025
• Manometric sea level changes from satellite gravimetry with uncertainties at 1-sigma: monthly grids with 1 degree spacing from April 2002 to August 2025
• Barystatic sea level changes from sea level budget with uncertainties at 1-sigma: monthly time series from January 1993 to June 2023

DOI and metadata

The satellite gravimetry products are referenced with the DOI: https://doi.org/10.24400/527896/a01-2023.011 
More metadata: https://commons.datacite.org/doi.org/10.24400/527896/a01-2023.011 

The sea level budget products are referenced with the DOI: https://doi.org/10.24400/527896/a01-2023.012 
More metadata: https://commons.datacite.org/doi.org/10.24400/527896/a01-2023.012 

Product access and condition of access

The product (NetCDF file) can be downloaded in open acces on the https server or via the non authenticated  FTP download (if the FTP protocol is not supported by your browsers, see this note)

The product is available free of charge for any project or study, and delivered as stated in the licence agreement.

Citation

If you use the data, please cite: "The barystatic and manometric products from satellite gravimetry and sea level budget approaches (DOI: 10.24400/527896/a01-2023.011 version XX and 10.24400/527896/a01-2023.012 version XX) were produced by Magellium/LEGOS and distributed by AVISO+ (https://aviso.altimetry.fr) with support from Copernicus Marine Service. "

Contacts

For any technical issues or additional information related to the barystatic and manometric products, users are advised to contact Alexandre Boughanemi : alexandre.boughanemi(at)magellium.fr

Acknowledgment

This work is supported by the Copernicus Marine Service in the framework of the WAMBOR (WAter Mass Balance in Ocean Reanalyses) project: https://marine.copernicus.eu/about/research-development-projects/2022-2024/WAMBOR.
Copernicus Marine Service is implemented by Mercator Ocean International in the framework of a delegation agreement with the European Union.

Barystatic and manometric product versions, documentation and access

Main references

• Blazquez, A., Meyssignac, B., Lemoine, J.-M., Berthier, E., Ribes, A., Cazenave, A. (2018). Exploring the uncertainty in GRACE estimates of the mass redistributions at the Earth surface: implications for the global water and sea level budgets, Geophysical Journal International, 215 (1), 415–430, https://doi.org/10.1093/gji/ggy293
• Barnoud, A., Pfeffer, J., Cazenave, A., Fraudeau, R., Rousseau, V., and Ablain, M. (2023). Revisiting the global mean ocean mass budget over 2005–2020, Ocean Sci., 19, 321–334, https://doi.org/10.5194/os-19-321-2023 

Other references

• Antarctic and Greenland Ice Sheet mass balance 1992–2020 for IPCC AR6 (Version 1.0), UK Polar Data Centre, Natural Environment Research Council, UK Research & Innovation [data set], https://doi.org/10.5285/77B64C55-7166-4A06-9DEF-2E400398E452 , 2021
• Barnoud, A., Pfeffer, J., Guérou, A., Frery, M.-L., Siméon, M., Cazenave, A., et al. (2021). Contributions of altimetry and Argo to non-closure of the global mean sea level budget since 2016. Geophysical Research Letters, 48, e2021GL092824. https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GL092824
• Bouih, M., Barnoud, A., Fraudeau, R., Larnicol, G., Cazenave, A., Meyssignac, B., Blazquez, A., Horwath, M., Döhne, T., Bamber, J., Abele, A., Leroux, S., Kolodziejcyk, N., Llovel, W., Spada, G., Storto, A., Yang, C., Connors, S., Restano, M., and Benveniste, J. and the SLBC_cci+ team: Global mean and local sea level budget from updated observations andresiduals analysis (SLBC_cci+ project), EGU General Assembly 2024, Vienna, Austria, 14–19 Apr 2024, EGU24-16813, https://doi.org/10.5194/egusphere-egu24-16813 , 2024.
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• Ishii, M., Fukuda, Y., Hirahara, S., Yasui, S., Suzuki, T., and Sato, K. (2017). Accuracy of Global Upper Ocean Heat Content Estimation Expected from Present Observational Data Sets, SOLA, 13, 163–167, https://doi.org/10.2151/sola.2017-030
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