Mazara del Vallo tide gauge observations (1906-1916): land subsidence or sea level rise?

Abstract

Tide gauge data constitute an invaluable tool for the interpretation of short and long-term sea level changes occurring in the Mediterranean Sea. The complex geophysical environment and the limited amount of sufficiently long records make the interpretation of local signals problematic, since these are often affected by interlacing processes. Starting from newly disclosed tide gauge records from the site of Mazara del Vallo (SW Sicily), we analyze simultaneously the time series available from other locations in Sicily across the beginning of the 20th century (Messina and Palermo). Despite the limited record length, we show that these observations provide new perspectives on the causes of the observed sea level variations in the central Mediterranean region, and in particular they challenge previous tenets regarding the extent of land movements caused by the 1908 Messina Straits earthquake.