Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: Sea Level |
Sea LevelNoun1. Level of the ocean's surface esp that halfway between mean high and low tide; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation or sea depth. Source: WordNet 1.7.1 Copyright © 2001 by Princeton University. All rights reserved. |
| Domain | Definitions |
Aerospace | = mean sea level. (references) |
Mechanical Engineering | The officially recognised reference plane from which all heights are measured in surveying. Source: European Union. (references) |
Public Administration | The mean level of the sea averaging all levels over a given period at a given place. Source: European Union. (references) |
Science | The ocean surface; the mean level between high and low tides. Sea level is used as a reference point in determining land elevation or sea depths. (references) |
| The datum against which land elevation and sea depth are measured. Mean sea level is the average of high and low tides. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
Conceptually, sea level is the zero height point where the ocean meets the land. Mean sea level at a given point is the average of that level when one has taken into account such things as tides and wave action. Traditionally, measurements had to take into account the effect of the 19-year Metonic cycle and the 223-month Saros cycle on the tides. In actuality it is an extremely difficult constant to determine. Mean sea level is not constant over the surface of the entire earth. Mean sea level at the Pacific end of the Panama Canal is 20 cm higher than at the Atlantic end.
The determination of sea level must take into account the ellipsoidal shape of the earth, and the effects of local gravitational anomalies. Over an extended period mean sea level will be affected by global warming in at least two ways: the run-off from melting glaciers on land, and the increased volume reflecting the coefficient of expansion of water. Melting icebergs do not affect ocean levels because the weight of an iceberg is the same as the weight of the volume of water that its submerged portion replaces. (See Archimedes' principle). Despite the difficulties, aviators using instrument flight rules must have accurate and reliable measurements of their altitudes above sea level, and the altitude of the airports where they intend to land. That problem can be compounded when the landing site is an aircraft carrier in a gravitational anomaly.
On other planets that lack a liquid ocean, a "mean altitude" can be calculated by averaging the heights of all points on the surface. This altitude is sometimes referred to as a sea level, and is used equivalently as a reference for the height of planetary features.
UK
In the UK, mean sea level is defined at Newquay in the county of Cornwall.See also
External links
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Sea level."
| The following table is compiled from various sources, across various languages. When English abbreviations or acronyms come from a non-English source, this is noted. | |||
| Entry | Source | Expression | Field |
| SELF | English | Sea Level Fluctuations in the Mediterranean:Interactions with Climate Processes and Vertical Crustal Movements | Geography |
Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |||
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Music |
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Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit | Thumbnail | Description & Credit |
 | Each of these swirling clouds is a result of a meteorological phenomenon known as a Karman vortex. These vortices appeared over Alexander Selkirk Island in the southern Pacific Ocean. Rising precipitously from the surrounding waters, the island's highest point is nearly a mile (1.6 km) above sea level. As wind-driven clouds encounter this obstacle, they flow around it to form these large, spinning eddies.Credit: NASA. |  | Radical changes in sea level following 1964 Alaska Good Friday Earthquake.Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |
 | Diagram showing relationship of tide to marker at Poolbeg Lighthouse Datum referred to low water April 8, 1837 for County Dublin Note use of Mean Sea Level.Credit: Coast & Geodetic Survey Historical Image Collection. |  | Photo #1 of Mount St. Elias sequence. Mount Saint Elias is one of the largest mountains visible from the sea on the North American continent. It rises to a height of 18,008 feet in a distance of less than 20 miles from sea level at Icy Bay.Credit: America's Coastlines. |
 | Flooding of low-lying areas at Holland Cliffs Shores by extreme high tides. Land is being lost at a rate of 1" per year in the Chesapeake Bay region due to combination of sea level rise and subsidence caused by lowering water tables. As population grows, so does demand for fresh water causing further subsidence, making events such as this increasingly common.Credit: America's Coastlines. |  | Demonstrating oxygen mask. After arriving at 11,000 feet altitude fresh from sea level, one often feels the need to perk up a little with oxygen before starting the day's work.Credit: Paths Less Taken - NOAA at the Ends of the Earth. |
 | Helen's Reef - a classic desert island - elevation above sea level about 8 feet.Credit: Small World. |  | A fresh water well on Yap. These wells are being diluted by salt-water as a as a result of sea level rise.Credit: Small World. |
 | On picturesque B.&O. Buckhorn Wall, 2500 feet above sea level / W.H. Jackson & Co., Denver.Credit: Library of Congress. |  | Buckhorn Wall, 2500 feet above sea level.Credit: Library of Congress. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Residing at higher altitude results in a greater UVR exposure such that for every 1,000 feet above sea level, there is a compounded 4 percent increase in UVR exposure. (references) | |
Economic History | Kiribati | Most of the land is less than two meters above sea level. (references) |
Eritrea | Asmara, the capital, is about 2,300 meters (7,500 ft.) above sea level. (references) | |
Maldives | Global warming and sea level rise could threaten the very existence of the Maldives. (references) | |
Travel | Mexico | Hot land ranges between sea level and 3,000 feet. (references) |
Bolivia | The altitude of La Paz's El Alto airport is 13,300 feet above sea level. (references) | |
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
Expressions using "sea level": above sea level ♦ at sea level ♦ be at sea level ♦ below sea level ♦ corrected to sea level ♦ height above sea level ♦ mean sea level ♦ sea level temperature. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| The following statistics estimate the number of searches per day across the major English-language search engines as identified by various trade publications. Hyperlinks lead to commercial use of the expression at Amazon.com. |
| Expression | Frequency per Day |
sea level | 74 |
sea level change | 2 |
sea level north carolina | 2 |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Language | Translations for "sea level"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Arabic | مستوى البحر. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bulgarian | морско равнище. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 海面 . (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Czech | nadmořský (above sea level), nadmořská výška (altitude, elevation, height above sea level). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Danish | vandstand (stage), normal nul (zero level), middel vanddybde, havoverfladen (zero level), havets overflade. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Dutch | zeeniveau, waterstand van de zee, peil (level), nulniveau (zero level), normaal peil. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Finnish | merenpinta (surface of the sea). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
French | niveau de la mer. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
German | Normalnull (Amsterdam Ordnance Datum), Meeresspiegel. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Greek | επίπεδο θάλασσας (zero level). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hebrew | 'וב" מעל פ י "ים. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Hungarian | tengerszint. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Italian | livello del mare (tract of water, water area, water level, water surface). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Kanji | 海面 (sea). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Japanese Katakana | かいめ" (interface, sea, sponge). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Manx | ardjid ny marrey. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | easay evellay nível do mar (zero level). (various references) nivel al mãrii. (various references) уровень моря. (various references) nivo mora. (various references) nivel del mar (sea-level, tract of water, water area, water level, water surface). (various references) vattestånd, havsytans nivå. (various references) deniz seviyesi. (various references) над рівн"м моря (above sea level), нижче від рівня моря (below sea level). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-e-e-l-l-s-v" | |
-2 letters: allees, leaves, levees, levels, sleave, sleeve. | |
-3 letters: allee, easel, eaves, elves, laves, lease, leave, levee, level, salve, selle, selva, slave, vales, valse, veals. | |
-4 letters: alee, ales, alls, aves, ease, eave, eels, ells, else, eves, lase, lave, lavs, leal, leas, lees, leva, sale, sall, save, seal, seel, sell, vale, vase, veal, vees, vela. | |
-5 letters: ale. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-e-e-l-l-s-v" | |
+4 letters: cloverleaves, malevolences. | |
+5 letters: leatherleaves, livablenesses, lovablenesses, mantelshelves, televangelism, televangelist, valuelessness. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)53 65 61 4C 65 76 65 6C |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01010011 01100101 01100001 00100000 01001100 01100101 01110110 01100101 01101100 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)S e a   L e v e l |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0053 0065 0061 004C 0065 0076 0065 006C |
Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)53716724671887178 |
| 1. Definition 2. Synonyms 3. Crosswords 4. Usage: Commercial | 5. Images: Slideshow 6. Images: Photo Album 7. Quotations: Non-fiction 8. Expressions | 9. Expressions: Internet 10. Translations: Modern 11. Abbreviations 12. Acronyms | 13. Anagrams 14. Orthography 15. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
