Malacca Strait
Malacca Strait is one of the most important shipping routes in the world with length of about 1000 kilometre and its width varies between 60 and 400 kilometres ( M.T.J. van Breemen,2008 ). The strait separate Peninsular Malaysia from Sumatra Island and links the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea to the South China Sea. Generally, topography of Malacca Strait (Figure 2.2) can be classified as a complex topography. According to Ku-Kassim et al (2007), Malacca Strait is a narrow and shallow water area with an average depth of 53 meters. At the northern area, the strait is wider and deeper (widest distance is 341 km, an average depth of 66 m). But, the south of this Strait is more narrow (minimum 25km) and shallow (average 40m). However, the depth is reducing dramatically starting at One Fathon Bank area to the south.
Investigation of ocean currents at Malacca Strait is more difficult than open surrounding seas like South China Sea. According to Omar et al (2005) which studied variation of sea levels at Malaysian Sea using satellite altimetry, the ocean circulation at Malacca Strait seems to be rather noisy due to fact narrow and shallow water area of that strait. Basically, the current at Malacca Strait is influenced by wind monsoons, tides and the terrain of the seabed (Azmy et al 1992). But, the tidal effect is more dominant the ocean current at Malacca Strait (Wrytki 1961; Maged 2000; Maged and Mohd Lokman 2003)
According to Wyrtki (1961), the monsoon effects in the strait Malacca are not cruel like open surrounding seas (South China Sea) because of the sheltering effect of the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra. However, the monsoon seasons still give great influence to the circulation at that Strait. Research carried out by Wyrtki (1961) found that the strongest water movement is during the northeast monsoon (January-April) with current velocity of 0.95 m/s.
During the Northeast and Southwest Monsoons, the ocean currents at Malacca Strait move to Northwest (towards Indonesian water and Andaman Sea) and Southeast direction respectively (Ku-Kassim et al 2007). Normally, the current at the north is greater than the south and the range of ocean current in this strait is between 0.9 - 0.74 m / s (Ku-Kassim et al 2007). According to Hii et al (2006), the southern Malacca Strait accepts the entry of sea water from the South China Sea. The ocean surface current pattern of the northeast monsoon season is shown in figure 2.3 below
Malacca Strait is one of the most important shipping routes in the world with a length of about 1000 kilometers and its width varies between 60 and 400 kilometers ( M.T.J. van Breemen,2008 ).
The strait separates Peninsular Malaysia from Sumatra Island and links the Indian Ocean and Andaman Sea to the South China Sea.
According to Omar et al (2005) which studied variations of sea levels of the Malaysian Sea using satellite altimetry, the ocean circulation at Malacca Strait seems to be rather noisy due to factthe narrow and shallow water area of that strait.
However , the tidal effect is more dominant than the ocean current at Malacca Strait (Wrytki 1961; Maged 2000; Maged and Mohd Lokman 2003)
According to Wyrtki (1961), the monsoon effects in the Malacca Strait are not harsh like in open surrounding seas (South China Sea) because of the sheltering effect of the Malay Peninsula and the island of Sumatra.
During the Northeast and Southwest Monsoons, the ocean currents at Malacca Strait move ton orthwest (towards Indonesian water and Andaman Sea) and s outheast direction respectively (Ku-Kassim et al 2007).
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