Coherence between interannual variability of sea level with some surface met-ocean parameters at Cochin, southwest coast of India

Abstract

The interannual coherence of some surface met-ocean parameters (viz. SST, air temperature, atmospheric pressure, scalar wind speed, cross-shore and along-shore wind stress, rainfall and relative density) with observed sea level has been studied for Cochin (southwest coast of India) using long term time series data. Among the parameters, SST, relative density and sea level showed statistically significant long term trends. All the parameters, when smoothed, showed statistically significant correlations with the observed sea level. Forty percent of the variance in the sea level was accounted for by the along-shore wind stress.