An Assessment of Regional ICESat‐2 Sea‐Level Trends
Brett Buzzanga, E. R. Heijkoop, B. D. Hamlington, R. S. Nerem, Alex Gardner
Abstract
Abstract Sea‐level rise is an important indicator of ongoing climate change and well observed by satellite altimetry. However, observations from conventional altimetry degrade at the coast where regional sea‐level changes can deviate from the open‐ocean and impact local communities. With the 2018 launch of the laser altimeter onboard ICESat‐2, new high‐resolution observations of ice, land, and ocean elevations are available. Here we assess the potential benefits of sea level measured by ICESat‐2 by comparing to data from Jason‐3 and tide gauges. We find good agreement in the linear rates computed from the independent observations, with an absolute average residual of 3.60 ± 0.03 cm yr −1 between global ICESat‐2 and Jason‐3 observations at a 1° posting. The recent La Niña is clearly evident in ICESat‐2 observations, as well as small‐scale features. By demonstrating the quality of the ICESat‐2‐measured sea level, we provide support for integrating it into the existing suite of sea‐level observations.