Sea level rise in Louisiana and Gulf of Mexico

Data from two tide-gage networks in Louisiana and the northern Gulf of Mexico were analyzed to determine local and regional trends in relative sea level rise. The US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) maintains a network of 83 tide-gage stations throughout coastal Louisiana. Of these, 20 have records for two lunar nodal cycles or more, and some date back to 1933. The authors used the USACE data set to determine the local and regional character of relative sea level rise in Louisiana. The National ocean Survey (NOS) maintains nine tide gage stations throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida. All of the records of these stations exceed two lunar nodal cycles, and some date back to 1908. The authors used the NOS data set to determine the character of relative sea level rise throughout the northern Gulf of Mexico. This investigation updates and extends the previous systematic regional tide gage analysis (which covered 1908-1983) to 1988.