In this paper, we use the optimum interpolation sea surface temperature (OISST) provided by the National Center for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) to replace the temperature in the top three layers in the ISHII data, and make use of the modified ISHII temperature data to calculate the thermosteric sea level (called modified steric sea level (SSL) hereafter). We subtract the modified SSL and the steric sea level (called ordinary SSL hereafter) derived from the ISHII temperature and salinity from the steric sea level (SSL) provided by the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE), respectively, and find that the rms error of the difference of the former is obviously smaller than that of the latter. Therefore we reach the conclusion that under the assumption that the GRACE SSL is accurate, the modified SSL can reflect the true steric sea level more accurately. Making use of the modified SSL, we can find that the modified SSL in sea areas of different spatial scales shows an obvious rising trend in the upper 0-700 m layer for the period 1982-2006. The global mean SSL rises with a rate of 0.6 mm year-1 .The modified SSLs in sea areas of different spatial scales all show obvious oscillations with period of one year. There are oscillations with periods of 4-8 years in global oceans and with periods of 2-7 years in the Pacific. The Empirical Orthogonal Function method is applied to the sea areas of different spatial scales and we find that the first modes all have obvious 1-year period oscillations, the first mode of the global ocean has 4-8 year period oscillations, and that of the Pacific has 2-6 year period oscillations. The spatial distribution of the linear rising trend of the global modified SSL in the upper 0-700 m layer is inhomogeneous with intense regional characteristics. The modified SSL linear trend indicates a zonal dipole in the tropical Pacific, rising in the west and descending in the east. In the North Atlantic, the modified SSL indicates a meridional dipole, rising in the latitude band of 20°N-
The sea level derived from TOPEX/Poseidon （T/P） altimetry data shows prominent long term trend and inter-annual variability. The global mean sea level rising rate during 1993-2003 was 2.9mm a^-1. The T/P sea level trend maps the geographical variability. In the Northern Hemisphere （15°-64°N）, the sea level rise is very fast at the mid-latitude （20°-40°N） but much slower at the high-latitude, for example, only 0.5 mm a^-1 in the latitude band 40°-50°N. In the Southern Hemisphere, the sea level shows high rising rate both in mid-latitude and high-latitude areas, for example, 5.1 mm a^-1 in the band 40°- 50°S. The global thermosteric sea level （TSL） derived from Ishii temperature data was rising during 1993-2003 at a rate of 1.2 mm a^-1 and accounted for more than 40% of the global T/P sea level rise. The contributions of the TSL distribution are not spatially uniform; for instance, the percentage is 67% for the Northern Hemisphere and only 29% for the Southern Hemisphere （15°-64°S） and the maximum thermosteric contribution appears in the Pacific Ocean, which contributes more than 60% of the global TSL. The sea level change trend in tropical ocean is mainly caused by the thermosteric effect, which is different from the case of seasonal variability in this area. The TSL variability dominates the T/P sea level rise in the North Atlantic, but it is small in other areas, and shows negative trend at the high-latitude area （40°-60°N, and 50°-60°S）. The global TSL during 1945-2003 showed obvious rising trend with the rate of about 0.3 mm a-l and striking inter-annual and decadal variability with period of 20 years. In the past 60 years, the Atlantic TSL was rising continuously and remarkably, contributing 38% to the global TSL rising. The TSL in the Pacific and Indian Ocean rose with significant in- ter-annual and decadal variability. The first EOF mode of the global TSL from Ishii temperature data was the ENSO mode in which the time series of the first mode showed steady rising trend.
Sea level variability in the East China Sea （ECS） was examined based primarily on the analysis of TOPEX/Poseidon altimetry data and tide gauge data as well as numerical simulation with the Princeton ocean model （POM）. It is concluded that the inter-annual sea level variation in the ECS is negatively correlated with the ENSO index, and that the impact is more apparent in the southern area than in the northern area. Both data analysis and numerical model results also show that the sea level was lower during the typical E1 Niflo period of 1997 to 1998. E1 Nifio also causes the decrease of the annual sea level variation range in the ECS. This phenomenon is especially evident in the southern ECS. The impacts of wind stress and ocean circulation on the sea level variation in the ECS are also discussed in this paper. It is found that the wind stress most strongly affecting the sea level was in the directions of 70° and 20° south of east,, respectively, over the northern and southern areas of the ECS. The northwest wind is particularly strong when E1 Nifio occurs, and sea water is transported southeastward, which lowers the sea level in the southern ECS. The sea level variation in the southern ECS is also significantly affected by the strengthening of the Kuroshio. During the strengthening period of the Kuroshio, the sea level in the ECS usually drops, while the sea level rises when the Kuroshio weakens.
