Seasonal and semi-annual variability of sea surface height in Makassar Strait

Abstract

Seasonal and semi-annual variability of sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) of Makassar Strait for 21 years in 1993-2013 is investigated using monthly product from several altimetry satellite observations. The time series data were obtained from AVISO and analyzed using spatial diagram and S-Transform. Results show that the monthly variation of mean SSHA increase from north to south part of the strait. The SSHA was dominantly for the 9-14 months that influenced by monsoonal system. During Northwest Monsoon the SSHA increases around 3 to 9 cm with the maximum in February in the southern part of the strait. The semiannual variation was also detected for the 5-7 months signal period and commonly occurs during transitional monsoon in April/May and November/December.This phenomenon related with Kelvin wave propagation from Lombok Strait to Makassar Strait.