Trend analysis of sea level rise for West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia

Abstract

Future sea level rise would be expected to have a number of impacts, particularly on Malaysia coastal systems such as flooding and inundation, coastal erosion and salt water intrusion. This study analyzes the trend variation of sea level rise (SLR) for selected locations along the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia. The rate of future SLR at these stations will then be predicted for the year 2050 and 2100. This study also examines the trend of sea level rise throughout the Straits of Malacca. The historical mean sea level data at the selected stations were used in the trend analysis. The non parametric Mann Kendal tests were carried out to determine trends in sea level rise. From the analysis, the results showed that all the selected stations along the West Coast of Peninsular Malaysia (i.e: Teluk Ewa Langkawi, Penang, Lumut, Port Klang, Tanjung Keling Melaka, and Kukup Johor) have an upward trend of sea level rise. The rate of SLR lies between 0.829 mm/yr to 2.021 mm/yr. The highest rate of SLR is at Teluk Ewa, Langkawi and the lowest is at Penang. The future projections of the trend line for an estimate SLR in the year 2050 and 2100, for all the selected stations exhibit an increment in sea level rise. In 2050, the highest incremental SLR is 9.175 cm which is at Teluk Ewa, Langkawi while the lowest incremental value is 3.994 cm at Penang. Subsequently, in 2100 the highest increment in SLR is 19.595 cm while the lowest increment is 8.395 cm at Teluk Ewa, Langkawi and Penang respectively. The trend analysis and the future projection also prove that the Straits of Malacca will experience a rise in sea level in 2050 and 2100.