SEA-LEVEL VARIATION ALONG THE SUEZ CANAL

The variation of sea level at Il stations distributed along the Suez C anal was studied during the period from 1980 to 1986. The ranges of va riation in daily mean sea level at Port Said and Port Tawfik are about 60 and 120 cm, respectively. The minimum range of daily variation is at Kantara (47 cm). The fluctuations of the monthly mean sea level bet ween the two ends of the Suez Canal vary from one season to another. F rom July to December, the sea level at Port Said is higher than that a t Port Tawfik, with the maximum difference (10.5 cm) in September. Dur ing the rest of the year, the mean sea level at Port Tawfik is higher than that at Port Said, with the maximum difference (31.5 cm) in March . The long-term variations of the annual mean sea level at both Port S aid and Port Tawfik for the period from 1923 to 1986 showed a positive trend. The sea level at Port Said increased by about 27.8 cm century( -1) while it increased by only 9.1 cm century(-1) at Port Tawfik. This indicates that the difference between sea level at Port Said and Port Tawfik has decreased with time. (C) 1997 Academic Press Limited.