Sea Level Forecasts for Pacific Islands

The Sea Level Forecasts website provides an outlook of monthly sea level anomalies in the Pacific Islands for the next one to two seasons, combining sea level forecasts with astronomical tide predictions to provide more accurate predictions of coastal water level compared to tide predictions alone.

Research efforts at the University of Hawai‘i Sea Level Center to develop these forecasts were supported by the US Department of the Interior through the Pacific Islands Climate Adaptation Science Center and the NOAA Ocean Observing and Monitoring Division.

The tool shows recent sea level observations from satellites (past 6 months) and predictions from one model (next 6 months). This map (above) is an example visualization of observed sea level from satellites. On the Sea Level Forecasts website, clicking on a label on the map will provide the multi-model forecast for that location and projected impacts.

The website can be used to see how predicted relative sea level anomaly is likely to alter the tide cycle and affect the coastline. An example showing impacts in 1, 2, and 3 months is displayed above.