Author(s): Serene H. X. Tay; Alamsyah Kurniawan; Seng Keat Ooi; Vladan Babovic

Linked Author(s): Seng Keat Ooi, Vladan Babovic

Keywords: Sea level anomalies; Malacca Strait; Hydrodynamic modelling

Abstract: Geographically located between Andaman Sea and South China Sea, water levels in Malacca Strait are indirectly driven by tide and hydrodynamic components from the two oceans: Indian Ocean and Pacific Ocean. Sea level anomalies (SLA) in Malacca Strait can amount to more than+/-30 cm. Earlier numerical studies based on tidal and meteorological forcing have failed to represent SLA well in Malacca Strait. These results suggested that SLA originates in large scale oceanographic effect beyond the strait, more likely from Indian Ocean. Present study attempts to enhance existing tidal and wind modelling approach by applying water level correction at model’s open boundary to improve SLA representation in the strait. Two alternative options to derive this open boundary water level correction are proposed: (1) SLA derived from satellite altimetry at location of boundary conditions, and (2) offline nesting within large-scale reduced depth model covering entire Indian Ocean driven by wind and atmospheric pressure. This analysis also assesses improvements of SLA representation in Malacca Strait using different model forcing, and describes volume flux through the strait induced by tidal and non-tidal components.

DOI:

Year: 2015