Steric sea-level change provides a primary link between ocean dynamics and heat and salt storages. However, the depth-dependent roles of temperature and salinity in shaping long-term trends of steric sea-level remain uncertain for many part of ocean, ...
Steric sea-level change provides a primary link between ocean dynamics and heat and salt storages. However, the depth-dependent roles of temperature and salinity in shaping long-term trends of steric sea-level remain uncertain for many part of ocean, particularly on multidecadal timescales in the tropical (5–15°S) and subtropical (20–30°S) western Indian Ocean. Steric, thermosteric, and halosteric sea-level trends over 1980–2024 in the tropical and subtropical western Indian Ocean are quantified using satellite altimetry, mass estimates, profiling floats, and four ocean reanalysis products. Steric components are derived from temperature and salinity at surface to 2000 m depth, and a heave–spice framework separates vertical displacement from water-mass property changes. In both latitude bands, steric sea-level shifts from an overall fall during 1980–2004 to a rise during 2004–2024, with a stronger transition in the tropics than subtropics. Tropical steric sea-level rise is dominated by upper-ocean warming, partly offset by mid-depth salinification, whereas in the subtropics an early salinification-driven fall gives way to surface and mid-depth freshening that yields a modest rise, accompanied by mid-depth cooling and an increasing spice contribution. These results highlight significant roles of both temperature and salinity at mid-depth in regulating the steric sea-level budget across the western Indian Ocean. Despite large uncertainties of reanalysis-derived estimates for deep ocean, halosteric and spice effects are suggested to be significantly considered alongside thermosteric warming when interpreting and projecting regional sea-level change.