Sea-level rise in Southeast Asia: a review of the factors, and the observed rates from tide gauge, satellite altimeters and assimilated data techniques

Abstract

ABSTRACT Sea-level rise (SLR) has become a serious global threat resulting from the climate change. The global rate of SLR observed by the long records of satellite altimeters (1993–2011) is at 3.11 mm/yr with the mean rate at Southeast Asia (SEA) slightly higher at 3.9 mm/yr (1993–2009). Many countries in SEA face the risk of SLR highlighting the flood dangers. In addition to the land prone to sinking, several countries like Indonesia face extreme SLR events. To provide an understanding of the SLR rates in SEA, this paper answers several questions associated with SLR in SEA. What are the factors that contributed to the SLR on regional scales? How can the SLR be mathematically modelled? How much has the sea level increased over the past decades based on the observed tide gauge, radar altimeters and data assimilation techniques? SLR from these techniques is reviewed because they provide the complete spectrum of processes that lead to sea-level variability. Finally, the prospects for future research are summarized in order to provide guidance for the future SLR studies.