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The Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level

The Permanent Service for Mean Sea Level (PSMSL) has been hosted at the National Oceanography Centre and its predecessors (e.g. Proudman Oceanographic Laboratory, Institute of Oceanographic Sciences) since 1933. It operates under the auspices of the International Council for Science (ICSU) and has been a member of the Federation of Astronomical and Geophysical Data Analysis Services (FAGS) until 2009. PSMSL is the only one of the twelve 'Geophysical Permanent Service' members of FAGS to be hosted by the UK.

PSMSL's responsibility is to collect, publish, analyse and interpret sea level data from the global network of tide gauges. The global data bank for long term sea level contains over 58000 station years of monthly and annual mean values of sea level from almost 2000 tide gauge stations around the world received from almost 200 national authorities. Direct measurements by tide gauges are the only reliable means of monitoring decadal sea level change and long term sea level rise. They are also needed to calibrate satellite altimetry. The PSMSL data set isused throughout oceanography, climate change, geology and geodesy - the most obvious application being 'sea level rise'. The data set is also used in all studies contributing to Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) assessments of recent sea level changes. The previous PSMSL Director has been a lead and contributing author for the sea level component of the IPCC Assessment Reports.

Other activities

In addition to maintaining the global data bank for mean sea level, and jointly acting as the GLOSS Data Archive with the British Oceanographic Data Centre, PSMSL provides services and advice to the international sea level community, including a range of derived-products. The main activities include:

• Providing users with the mean sea level and delayed-mode data sets via the web, together with ancillary information.
• Developing training information, and organising training courses, for operators of tide gauges and users of their data sets.
• Responding to requests for information from national tide gauge agencies, decision makers (local councils, Parliamentary enquiries), the media and general public.

Some of the services and advice draw on expertise elsewhere in-house, such as the technical knowledge of the local NOC Ocean Engineering and Technology Group.

Visit the PSMSL website for more information &rarr