mean sea level
Ocean's average height
Mean sea level is the average height of the ocean's surface, measured over time to account for tides and waves.
It serves as the standard reference point for measuring elevation on land: when a mountain is said to be 14,000 feet high, that's 14,000 feet above mean sea level.
Often abbreviated MSL, especially in aviation and surveying.
- tidesPeriodic sea-level changes
- high water markGreatest recorded extent
- gravityMutual mass attraction
- global warmingRising planetary temperatures
- coastal erosionLand loss at sea edges
coastal flooding · ocean currents · isostasy · barometric pressure · datum · flooding · hydrosphere · storm surges · thermal expansion · rising waters · land survey · bathymetry · nautical charts · continental shelf · climate change adaptation · remote sensing · marine habitats · interpolation
- tidal datumschart datum
- altitude termsfeet, meters, elevation, summit elevation, depth
- tideshigh tide, low tide, ebb tide, tides, flood tide
- water levelshigh water, low water, water line, waterline, water mark
- nautical termsahoy, afloat, aye aye, aye-aye, becalmed
- coordinateslatitude, longitude, coordinates, lat, long
mean sea levelsummit elevation
Height of highest point
ocean floor · mountain peak · highest point · lowest point · nadir
mean sea levelhigh tide
Maximum sea level
low tide · spring tide · storm surge · neap tide · king tide
mean, means, meaning, meant, meanly, meanness, seaward, seaborne, seaside