Acta Geodynamica et Geomaterialia

Title: MODERN VERTICAL CRUSTAL MOVEMENTS OF THE SOUTHERN BALTIC COAST FROM TIDE GAUGE, SATELLITE ALTIMETRY AND GNSS OBSERVATIONS
Authors: Kowalczyk Kamil, Pajak Katarzyna and Naumowicz Bartosz
DOI: 10.13168/AGG.2019.0020
Journal: Acta Geodynamica et Geomaterialia, Vol. 16, No. 3 (195), Prague 2019
Full Text: PDF file (0.6 MB)
Keywords: vertical crustal movements, tide gauge, geocentric sea level changes, satellite altimetry
Abstract: In this study, the vertical crustal movements of the southern Baltic coast were determined based on two independent methods: tide gauge and GNSS observations. The mean sea level change trends were determined from five tide gauge observations and satellite altimetry data along the Polish coastal zone. The vertical crustal movements at nearby GNSS stations were also determined. We used the tide gauge water level data from the Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) and from the Institute of Meteorology and Water Management National Research Institute, Poland (1951-2017 and 1993-2017) as well as sea level anomalies obtained from the Copernicus Marine and Environment Monitoring Service (CMEMS) (1993-2017). The time series for GNSS stations eveloped with the PPP technique obtained from Nevada Geodetic Laboratory (NGL) and last - squares approach were used for the analysis. The results provide a view of the absolute vertical crustal movements of the Polish coast. The absolute vertical crustal movements, calculated from tide gauge data and satellite altimetry for the time period between 1951-2017 ¬– from +2.20 mm/yr ±0.42 mm/yr to +2.68 mm/yr ±0.31 mm/yr. A comparison was made, and it showed that the absolute movements determined from two data sets were different. This may be a consequence of several factors: short and incomplete time series, other unidentified movements of a GNSS station, a tide gauge of own movements, human activity, geological and hydrological factors, the method of the time series elaboration and of the data used to work out the vertical crustal movements. It is thought that the results are very significant despite the existing differences in the absolute crustal movements, because the sea level is a unique index in studies of climate impact on all changes on the Earth and crustal movements are closely linked to it.