Recent sea level change in the Mediterranean sea revealed by Topex/Poseidon satellite altimetry

Using altimetry data of the Topex/Poseidon satellite available since early 1993, we show that the eastern Mediterranean sea level has been continuousl y rising during 1993-1999, at a rate up to 20 mm/yr southeast of Crete. Sea level rise is also observed in the Algerian-Provencal basin as well as in the Tyrrhenian and Adriatic seas. The north Ionian sea, on the other hand, shows an opposite trend, i.e., a sea level drop during the past seven years . Sea surface temperature trends are strongly correlated to sea level trend s, indicating that at least part of the observed sea level change has a the rmal origin. The recent Mediterranean sea level rise observed by Topex/Pose idon may be related to the warming trends reported from hydrographic cruise s in the intermediate and deep waters of the eastern basin since the early 1990s, and of the western basin since the 1960s.