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How Salty Is the Global Ocean: Weighing It All or Tasting It a Sip at a Time?
Author(s) -
Ponte R. M.,
Sun Q.,
Liu C.,
Liang X.
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
geophysical research letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.007
H-Index - 273
eISSN - 1944-8007
pISSN - 0094-8276
DOI - 10.1029/2021gl092935
Subject(s) - climatology , environmental science , gravimetry , sea level , oceanography , geology , geotechnical engineering , reservoir modeling
Global ocean mean salinityS ¯is a key indicator of the Earth's hydrological cycle and the exchanges of freshwater between land and ocean, but its determination remains a challenge. Aside from traditional methods based on gridded salinity fields derived from in situ measurements, we explore estimates ofS ¯based on liquid freshwater changes derived from space gravimetry data corrected for sea ice effects. For the 2005–2019 period analyzed, the differentS ¯series show little consistency in seasonal, interannual, and long‐term variability. In situ estimates show sensitivity to choice of product and unrealistic variations. A suspiciously large rise inS ¯since ∼2015 is enough to measurably affect halosteric sea level estimates and can explain recent discrepancies in the global mean sea level budget. Gravimetry‐basedS ¯estimates are more realistic, inherently consistent with estimated freshwater contributions to global mean sea level, and provide a way to calibrate the in situ estimates.