Sea-Level Variability and Vertical Land Motions in Singapore From Tide Gauge and GNSS Observations

Sea-level rise poses a threat to Singapore's coastlines and coastal ecosystems. To strengthen coastal protection, it is crucial to understand sea-level variability and quantify the contributions from climate change and vertical land motions (VLM). Although the variability of relative sea level...

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Main Authors: Dongju Peng, Lujia Feng, Victor H.S. Khoo, Evert Mulder
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: IEEE 2025-01-01
Series:IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
Subjects:
Online Access:https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11014593/
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author Dongju Peng
Lujia Feng
Victor H.S. Khoo
Evert Mulder
author_facet Dongju Peng
Lujia Feng
Victor H.S. Khoo
Evert Mulder
author_sort Dongju Peng
collection DOAJ
description Sea-level rise poses a threat to Singapore's coastlines and coastal ecosystems. To strengthen coastal protection, it is crucial to understand sea-level variability and quantify the contributions from climate change and vertical land motions (VLM). Although the variability of relative sea level in the region has been studied, the impact of VLM and the temporal variations of seasonal sea-level cycles remain underexplored. This study examines the magnitude and causes of VLM using the most comprehensive and up-to-date dataset from an island-wide Global Navigation Satellite System network and integrates this information with relative sea-level measurements from tide gauges to isolate the effect of VLM. To investigate sea-level variability, we incorporate colored noise to derive rates and use forward stepwise multiple linear regression analysis to examine temporal variations of seasonal sea-level cycles. Our results show that, from December 2004 to April 2012, island-wide land subsidence at rates up to −2.2 mm/yr was observed due to three great megathrust earthquakes in Sumatra. Except for this period of tectonic subsidence, the main island is generally stable with subsidence close to zero. On average, the relative sea level in Singapore has risen at rates of 2.7 mm/yr from 1980 to 2020 and 3.6 mm/yr from 1993 to 2020. The annual sea-level cycle amplitude ranges from 5 to 15 cm, while the maximum semi-annual amplitude is approximately 4 cm, with both amplitudes exhibiting variations of 2–3 cm over time.
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spelling doaj-art-8d63134dc20541fbb8b0f82413462efe2025-08-20T02:32:10ZengIEEEIEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing1939-14042151-15352025-01-0118136661367710.1109/JSTARS.2025.357329911014593Sea-Level Variability and Vertical Land Motions in Singapore From Tide Gauge and GNSS ObservationsDongju Peng0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7152-7534Lujia Feng1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3736-5025Victor H.S. Khoo2Evert Mulder3Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, SingaporeAsian School of the Environment and the Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, SingaporeSingapore Land Authority, SingaporeSingapore Land Authority, SingaporeSea-level rise poses a threat to Singapore's coastlines and coastal ecosystems. To strengthen coastal protection, it is crucial to understand sea-level variability and quantify the contributions from climate change and vertical land motions (VLM). Although the variability of relative sea level in the region has been studied, the impact of VLM and the temporal variations of seasonal sea-level cycles remain underexplored. This study examines the magnitude and causes of VLM using the most comprehensive and up-to-date dataset from an island-wide Global Navigation Satellite System network and integrates this information with relative sea-level measurements from tide gauges to isolate the effect of VLM. To investigate sea-level variability, we incorporate colored noise to derive rates and use forward stepwise multiple linear regression analysis to examine temporal variations of seasonal sea-level cycles. Our results show that, from December 2004 to April 2012, island-wide land subsidence at rates up to −2.2 mm/yr was observed due to three great megathrust earthquakes in Sumatra. Except for this period of tectonic subsidence, the main island is generally stable with subsidence close to zero. On average, the relative sea level in Singapore has risen at rates of 2.7 mm/yr from 1980 to 2020 and 3.6 mm/yr from 1993 to 2020. The annual sea-level cycle amplitude ranges from 5 to 15 cm, while the maximum semi-annual amplitude is approximately 4 cm, with both amplitudes exhibiting variations of 2–3 cm over time.https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11014593/Sea-level risesea-level variabilitySingaporevertical land motions (VLM)
spellingShingle Dongju Peng
Lujia Feng
Victor H.S. Khoo
Evert Mulder
Sea-Level Variability and Vertical Land Motions in Singapore From Tide Gauge and GNSS Observations
IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Applied Earth Observations and Remote Sensing
Sea-level rise
sea-level variability
Singapore
vertical land motions (VLM)
title Sea-Level Variability and Vertical Land Motions in Singapore From Tide Gauge and GNSS Observations
title_full Sea-Level Variability and Vertical Land Motions in Singapore From Tide Gauge and GNSS Observations
title_fullStr Sea-Level Variability and Vertical Land Motions in Singapore From Tide Gauge and GNSS Observations
title_full_unstemmed Sea-Level Variability and Vertical Land Motions in Singapore From Tide Gauge and GNSS Observations
title_short Sea-Level Variability and Vertical Land Motions in Singapore From Tide Gauge and GNSS Observations
title_sort sea level variability and vertical land motions in singapore from tide gauge and gnss observations
topic Sea-level rise
sea-level variability
Singapore
vertical land motions (VLM)
url https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/11014593/
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AT victorhskhoo sealevelvariabilityandverticallandmotionsinsingaporefromtidegaugeandgnssobservations
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