@article {521,
	title = {Sea level in the Mediterranean: a first step towards separating crustal movements and absolute sea-level variations},
	journal = {Global and Planetary Change},
	volume = {14},
	year = {1996},
	abstract = {<p>The SELF (SEa Level Fluctuations: geophysical interpretation and  environmental impact) project has been developed and realized in the  framework of the Environment Programme designed by the Commission of the  European Communities. The SELF project was aimed at providing a  reliable base for the determination, in the Mediterranean area, of  sea-level variations which could then be used as a possible indicator of  climate changes and to study the interactions taking place among the  ocean, the atmosphere., and the solid Earth. The project has made it  possible to define a consistent network of well-established tide gauges  encompassing the Mediterranean Basin as far as the Black Sea and to  determine to centimeter accuracy the tide gauge benchmark heights in a  global well-defined reference system such as the one provided by the  SLR/VLBI space techniques. The SELF network constitutes, for the  Mediterranean, the necessary prerequisite towards achieving the actual  capability to separate vertical crustal movements from true sea-level  variations. This has been accomplished through the use of space  techniques namely SLR, VLBI and GPS in conjunction with Water Vapor  Radiometer observations and absolute gravity measurements. The analysis  of the available tide gauge records has shown a high  spatial coherence  of the annual to multidecadal sea-level variability. Sea-level  fluctuations at periods longer than two months were found to be strongly  correlated with air pressure. The seasonal cycle was found to be  variable in time. Relative sea-level trends determined from records  longer than 30 years are less than 1.5 mm/yr. Crustal movement rates as  determined from the tide gauge records are in general of the order + 1.0  mm/yr. The geological observations have shed light on the fact that a  marked variability of crustal movements occurs on both the temporal and  spatial scale, and it represents a major contribution to relative  sea-level fluctuations. This fact has been verified for the selected  sector which belongs to one of the more geodynamically active areas of  the Central Mediterranean (Aeolian Archipelago). However, this work has  shown that, at least at the tide gauges included in the present study,  crustal movements are small compared to the decadal to multidecadal  sea-level variability but of the same order as the long-term trend in  sea level, thus necessitating a careful monitoring if crustal movement  is to be separated from the oceanographic contribution to relative  sea-level changes.</p>},
	keywords = {Black sea, changement climatique, climate, climate change, environment, geophysic, g{\'e}ophysique, hausse du niveau de la mer, impact, interaction, Mediterranean sea, Mer M{\'e}diterran{\'e}e, Mer Noire, monitoring, network, ocean, sea level rise, trend},
	author = {S. Zerbini and H.P. Plag and T. Baker and M. Becker and H. Billiris and B. B{\"u}rki and H.G. Kahle and I. Marson and L. Pezzoli and B. Richter and C. Romagnoli and M. Sztobryn and P. Tomasi and M. Tsimplis and G. Veis and G. Verrone}
}
