SEA LEVEL CHANGES AT ROSETTA PROMONTORY, EGYPT

SEA LEVEL CHANGES AT ROSETTA PROMONTORY, EGYPT
A.M. ABDALLAH*, A. A. EL-GINDY* AND E. A. DEBES**
*Oceanography Department, Alexandria University, Alexandria, Egypt
**Coastal Research Institute, Alexandria, Egypt.
*E-mail: [email protected]
Keywords: Sea level, Tides, Surges, Rosetta.
ABSTRACT
The time series of the available hourly sea level data collected during the periods 1982
– 1983 & 2000 – 2001 at two locations at Rosetta promontory (Sea and Estuary stations)
were used to study the main features of sea level, tides and surge variations in this region.
The annual ranges of hourly sea level heights at the Sea and Estuary stations have nearly
the same value of about 90 cm. The water level at the Estuary station is higher than that at
the Sea station and the annual MSL at the Estuary station is about 30.0 cm, while at the Sea
station it is 12 cm above the zero level of the Survey Authority. The tides at Rosetta
promontory are mixed but are mainly of semi-diurnal type and the tidal ranges are less than
26 cm .The tidal range in the estuary is relatively larger and the times of high and low water
are slightly later than at the sea. The annual mean surge levels at both stations are close to
zero. At the Estuary station, the monthly mean sea and surge levels are generally below the
corresponding annual mean levels in February and during the period from April to June,
while at the Sea station they are lower during the period from April – August.