New Challenges in Sea Level Rise Observation

Dear Colleagues,

Sea level data from global tide gauge networks, observations from space by radar altimeters, and in situ observations are in agreement with a sea-level that started to rise in the mid-19th century and is increasing at a rate of about 30 cm per century. Global sea level is expected to rise by about one meter by the end of this century, and natural or human-induced land subsidence can locally accelerate its impacts along with specific continental and insular coasts.

Rising sea level is a global threat representing a factor of hazard for many populations living in coastal plains facing the sea and in low-lying islands. These zones are the most prone to be inundated in the next decades under the effect of global warming.

Satellite radar altimeter measurement of changes in global mean sea level at unprecedented accuracy at a few mm can support sea-level trend estimates and projections by 2100, including expected flooding scenarios when in combination with land data.

Furthermore, new advances in UAV, photogrammetric software, and optical sensors are revolutionizing data acquisition and production of very high-resolution and -accuracy DSM/DEMs in coastal areas. Even though high-resolution photogrammetric products cannot be used directly for the observation of sea-level rise, they are a very powerful tool for the study of its effects in coastal areas.

This Special Issue of Remote Sensing aims at collecting new insights and benefits deriving from the use of satellite radar altimeters focusing on global sea-level changes and their impact along the coasts. New space missions are making possible recent advancements in the methodologies, techniques, and data processing also in combination with ground data, mainly in the following aspects:

• Tracking of the global sea level trend from space;
• Detection of hotspots induced by climate changes and coastal hydrodynamics from radar altimeters;
• Integration of spatial data with historical ground datasets gathered from tide gauge networks;
• Combined analysis with land subsidence detected from geodetic networks and InSAR data, to identify coastal zones exposed to accelerated sea-level rise;
• Assessing the impact of storm surges and flooding extents in coastal areas;
• Assessing the effects of tsunamis;
• Generation of very high-resolution and -accuracy DEMs in coastal areas;
• Any other applications to sea surface dynamics and coastal studies.

Dr. Marco Anzidei
Dr. Charalampos Georgiadis
Guest Editors

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• Sea level rise
• Storm surges and flooding extents in coastal areas
• Satellite radar altimeters
• DEMs in coastal areas
• Sea surface dynamics