A EUROPEAN NETWORK FOR SEA-LEVEL AND COASTAL LAND LEVEL MONITORING

Recommendations have recently been made by an international working gr oup that a global absolute sea level monitoring system should be set u p over the next few years by installing permanently operating GPS rece ivers at 100, or thereabouts, key tide gauges around the world. After giving a brief overview of these recommendations and of the current st ate of global and regional tide gauge and GPS networks, we propose the formation of a strategic European network for sea level and coastal l and level monitoring. This will complement the sparser 'global' monito ring system and provide a European network infrastructure with common standards. it will provide a more regional basis for sea and land leve l monitoring, and can be further densified in local areas which have f lood defence problems. The proposed system will provide data for deter mining regional changes in absolute mean sea levels due to climate cha nge, identifying areas of coastal subsidence, monitoring flow through straits, and for helping to define a unified European vertical datum, We hope to stimulate discussions between European geodesists, oceanogr aphers and tide gauge operators, with the aim of achieving extensive s upport for such a network. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science B.V.