OCEAN WARMING AND SEA-LEVEL RISE ALONG THE SOUTHWEST UNITED-STATES COAST

Hydrographic time-series data recorded during the past 42 years in the upper 500 meters off the coast of southern California indicate that temperatures have increased by 0.8-degrees-C uniformly in the upper 1 00 meters and that temperatures have risen significantly to depths of about 300 meters. The effect of warming the surface layer of the ocean and thereby expanding the water column has been to raise sea level by 0.9 +/- 0.2 millimeter per year. Tide gauge records along the coast are coherent with steric height and show upward trends in sea level that vary from about 1 to 3 millimeters per year.