THE CASPIAN SEA LEVEL, DYNAMICS, WIND, WAVES AND UPLIFT OF THE EARTH'S CRUST DERIVED FROM SATELLITE ALTIMETRY

The oscillations of the Caspian Sea level represent a result of mutually related hydrometeorological processes. The change in the tendency of the mean sea level variations that occurred in the middle 1970s, when the long-term level fall was replaced by its rapid and significant rise, represents an important indicator of the changes in the natural regime of the Caspian Sea. Therefore, sea level monitoring and long-term forecast of the sea level changes represent an extremely important task. The aim of this presentation is to show the experience of application of satellite altimetry methods to the investigation of seasonal and interannual variability of the sea level, wind speed and wave height, water dynamics, as well as of uplift of the Earth’s crust in different parts of the Caspian Sea and Kara-Bogaz-Gol Bay. Special attention is given to estimates of the Volga River runoff derived from satellite altimetry data. The work is based on the 1992-2005 TOPEX/Poseidon (T/P) and Jason-1 (J-1) data sets.