Executive Summary
- A SEAFRAME gauge was installed in Betio, Tarawa, Kiribati, in December 1992. It records sea level, air and water temperature, atmospheric pressure, wind speed and direction. It is one of an array designed to monitor changes in sea level and climate in the Pacific.
- This report summarises the findings to date, and places them in a regional and historical context.
- The sea level trend to date is +5.7 mm/year but the magnitude of the trend continues to vary widely from month to month as the data set grows. Accounting for the precise levelling results and inverted barometric pressure effect, the trend is +5.3 mm/year. Nearby gauges, with longer records but less precision and datum control, show trends of â3.78, 0.8, 3.15 and 0.43 mm/year.
- Variations in monthly mean sea level include a very small seasonal cycle and were affected by the 1997/1998 El Nino.
- Variations in monthly mean air and water temperature include very small seasonal cycles and were likewise affected by the 1997/1998 El Nino.
- The equatorial location of Tarawa means that it is not subject to tropical cyclones.
- The SEAFRAME gauge at Tarawa, Kiribati has not recorded any tsunami since installation, but historically tsunamis have been observed in Kiribati.