From 1975 until the mid-1990s, Cazenave researched temporal and spatial variations of gravity. She used satellite altimetry data from
SEASAT,
ERS-1, and
TOPEX/Poseidon to devise gravity models of deep ocean geodynamic processes. The models were used to investigate marine tectonic features such as
geoid height variations across
deep ocean trenches and fracture zones, lithospheric cooling and
subsidence, and the isostatic compensation of
seamount chains. Cazenave turned her focus to space oceanography in the 1990s. Using data sets from the satellite altimetry missions TOPEX/Poseidon,
Jason-1, and the
Ocean Surface Topography Mission of Jason-2, she has addressed the problem of
global sea level rise. She was among the first scientists to use the satellite altimetry data to extrapolate a rate of sea level rise of approximately three mm/year. She addressed the problem of balancing the global sea level budget by incorporating time-dependent gravity field data from the
GRACE satellite system into her analyses. She has also been involved in studying terrestrial bodies of water from space. Cazenave is a member of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and was the lead author of the sea level sections of the 2007
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report and the 2014
IPCC Fifth Assessment Report. Cazenave has called attention to the effects of
climate change on sea level rising. She has indicated that extremely flat regions such as
Bangladesh could have their groundwater threatened by sea salinisation. Cazenave was elected to the
French Academy of Sciences in 2004. She was the 2012 recipient of the
William Bowie Medal. She is foreign member of the National Academy of Sciences (USA), of the Indian National Academy of sciences (India) and Royal Academy of Belgium. ==Selected works==