Abstract

[1] Tide gauge data are used to relate low frequency sea level changes over the past 60 years in the western tropical Pacific, including a significant positive trend over the past two decades, to Pacific climate indices. Five-year averages of western tropical Pacific sea level are well explained by global sea-level rise and a combination of slowly varying trade wind fluctuations captured by dominant climate indices for the tropical Pacific. Implications for multidecadal sea level variations in the region are considered using reconstructions based on the climate indices.