Field course in Coastal Geomorphology of Penang Island 17-22 January 2015

Supervisor:  Professor Dr. Wan Ruslan Ismail

The Geography student of  the Geography section, School of Humanities, Universiti Sains Malaysia is compulsary to undergo an intensive 2 weeks field course during the semester break.
My group of student are exposed to carry out beach profiles and relationship to wave environment and beach sand particle characteristics

A total of 12 beaches were selected around Penang and Seberang Perai during the week from  17 to 22 January 2015.


Day 1: 17 January 2015. Morning: Pantai Bayan Mutiara
Begin with discussion in the hydrology lab

Afternoon: Pantai Permatang Damar Laut

 

 Pantai Sungai Batu

Day 2: 18 January 2015

Pantai Pasir Panjang, Pulau Betong, Balik Pulau

Gertak Sanggul

Tanjong Asam 

Telok Bahang 

Batu Feringghi Beaches

Tanjung Bungah

Pantai Bersih

KESAN BANJIR KEPADA EKONOMI DAN MASYARAKAT

Dilaporkan antara kesan drp banjir besar di Malaysia ialah yang menjejaskan kawasan pertanian kelapa sawit seluas 190,600 hektar. "Pengeluaran Minyak Sawit Malaysia (MSM) di Semenanjung Malaysia berkurangan 30.13 peratus kepada 608,613 tan metrik berbanding 871,042 tan metrik manakala di Sabah pula berkurangan 13.99 peratus kepada 489,781 tan metrik dan Sarawak pula 14.08 peratus kepada 266,403 tan metrik" 
http://www.utusan.com.my/sains-teknologi/pertanian/banjir-jejaskan-minyak-sawit-1.47356

Kesan lain banjir kepada masyarakat ialah penyakit berjangkit.
http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/nahas-bencana/penyakit-daripada-bangkai-haiwan-dikhuatiri-menular-1.44634

COARSE WOODY DEBRIS (CWD), BIG FLOOD AND MJO??

Reported by Utusan (28 Dec 2014) there were log wood deposited on the road and villages after the flood water receded. This is evidence of logging activities in the catchment areas.

http://www.utusan.com.my/polopoly_fs/1.41927.1419772752!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_650/image.jpg

Tonnes of log, and rubbish has been brought down by flood . About 300,000 to 400,000 tonnes of garbages were collected or brought down by the flood. http://www.utusan.com.my/berita/nahas-bencana/400-000-tan-8232-sampah-dikumpul-1.47429

and alam flora reported mountains of debris
https://www.facebook.com/alamflorasdnbhd/photos/a.218987731446456.65558.216976404980922/918204314858124/?type=1&theater

Heavy downpours
Drainage and Irrigation Department Malaysia also reported a high amount of rainfall  in the catchment area causing large amount of water in the river and inundated to the floodplain together with high water in the coast causing water to rise and flooded Kelantan and Terengganu. It was reported that the normal amount of rainfall was only about 400-500 mm per month but now it has become to about 1000mm per month (Source : DID). Met Office reported the highest record rainfall for Kelantan was during the Dec 2014 at 1226.3mm (Can you imagine the average annual rainfall for Malaysia is 2500-3000mm).

Climate Change

We cannot deny the effect of climate change on flooding as has been pointed out by researcher. See paper by Loo, Billa and Ajit Singh (2014).  Geoscience Frontiers.  http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S167498711400036X

Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) in the upper atmosphere
Another related phenomema is the atmospheric circulation called the Madden-Julian Oscillation (MJO) situated about  8 km above which is not always there, but  when it is there is turn big showers into giant showers. Refer to to Rob Mc Elwee of Al-Jazeera (27 Dec 2014) who cited  MJO at
http://www.cpc.ncep.noaa.gov/products/precip/CWlink/MJO/mjo.shtml

The Madden–Julian oscillation, or (MJO), is the largest element of the intraseasonal (30–90 day) variability in the tropical atmosphere, and was discovered by Roland Madden andPaul Julian of the National Center for Atmospheric Research (NCAR) in 1971. It is a large-scale coupling between atmospheric circulation and tropical deep convection.^[13][14] Rather than being a standing pattern like the El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), the MJO is a traveling pattern that propagates eastward at approximately 4 to 8 m/s (9 to 18 mph), through the atmosphere above the warm parts of the Indian and Pacific oceans. This overall circulation pattern manifests itself in various ways, most clearly as anomalousrainfall. The wet phase of enhanced convection and precipitation is followed by a dry phase where thunderstorm activity is suppressed. Each cycle lasts approximately 30–60 days.^[15] Because of this pattern, The MJO is also known as the 30–60 day oscillation, 30–60 day wave, or intraseasonal oscillation.

RECYCLING AND STOP THE RUBBISH ENDING UP IN THE RIVER

Walking around Asakusa Tokyo during my recent visit I saw this place where recycling processes is going on.  We can make money out of it at the same time save the cost of river cleaning, save the land use for dumping and many other related to solid waste and water quality issues. Every year many thousan tonnes of garbage were collected from our Sungai Kelang. In order to beautify the Melaka River for now becoming the famous river cruise trip in Malaysia, rubbish trap were set up before reaching Kampong Morten. These effort could be reduce if recycling could be carried out by all Malaysian and help the government. 

Every year how much solid waste ended up in rivers? Let's do our part of living and do not 'assume' other peoples to take care of our waste. Maybe there are the one working in the Majlis Perbandaran to sweep floors and take our rubbish? But lets recycle and our part in the society to alleviate and reduce waste in rivers and waterways that might clog drains and silted up the river floor that later on cause flooding and increase the frequency of flooding. LETS RECYCLE

FLOODING TIME AGAIN...
Came Nov/Dec flooding is inevitable

This year flood event came to Terengganu and Kelantan and its southern Thailand border
http://floodlist.com/asia/4-dead-14000-evacuated-floods-thailand-malaysia-border.

See Flood List for recent and past flood events  http://floodlist.com/asia

During flood a lot of sediment is transported out of the catchment area. Major sources of sediment from the upland and storage along the rivers will be flushed down the river during flood. Its like cleaning the 'longkang' and drains during rainfall event. Studies on sediment transport from catchment shows that 80-90% of annual sediment flush down the catchment were from one or two flood events. This river cleanses will  cause sedimentation in the coastal areas, affecting fisheries and corals.

IAHS Conference Tour to the Lake Borgne Surge Barrier

Part of New Orleans were submerged by the flood due to Hurricane Katrina in 2005. View two videos related to the Conference tour

http://www.rnr.lsu.edu/icce2014/field-trip.htm

Billion of USD were then spent on preventing future effect of flooding by hurricane. One such effort is the building of this barrier. Picture of the visit by Prof. Wan Ruslan during the conference tour

IAHS NEW ORLEANS- SEDIMENT DYNAMICS FROM THE SUMMIT TO THE SEA
10-14 DEC 2014 HOTEL ASTOR CROWN PLAZA, NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA, USA


Today (11 Dec 2014) is the start of the most important sediment conference in the World dealing with the source of sediment in the summit, transport and sinking  of sediment in the sea. Before reaching the sea the sediment is temporarily stored in the rivers and flood plain. Hosted by Professor Jun Xu and his team from Lousiana State University. The conference discusses  various topics from Hillspoe erosion, Channel erosion,  strema nd river sediment transport, sediment associated contamination and pollution, catchment and river basin sediment yield, integrated modellling of erosion and sediment transport and sediment dynamics in coastal systems.

Schedule and Presentation
http://www.rnr.lsu.edu/icce2014/schedule.htm

 

HGRG: 2014 Publications

2014 publications by HGRG Members

1.     Wan Ruslan Ismail and Mohmadisa Hashim (2014). Changing trends in rainfall and sediment fluxes of Kinta River, Perak, Malaysia. In: Sediment Dynamics from the Summit to the Sea. Edited by: Xu, Y.J., Mead A. Allison, Samuel J. Bentley, Adrian L. Collins, Wayne D. Erskine, Valentin Golosov, Arthur J. Horowitz and Mike Stone. (Proceedings of a symposium held in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, 11–14 December 2014) (IAHS Publ. 367, 340-345). Issn 0144-7815 (HTtp://iahs.info/uploads/dms/16704.367Abstracts-for-website-45.pdf)

2.     Haghroosta, T., Ismail, W. R., Ghafarian, P., and Barekati, S. M. (2014) The efficiency of the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model for simulating typhoons, Nat. Hazards Earth Syst. Sci., 14, 2179-2184.  doi:10.5194/nhess-14-2179-2014. Impact Factor 1.826.

3.     Haghroosta T. & W.R. Ismail 2014.  Investigating Four Decades of Typhoon Activities in the Asia Pacific. Indian J. Scientific Research 4(5), 419-426.

4.     Wan Ruslan Ismail, Mohd Nazrul Ibrahim, Mohd Khusyairi Mohd Zahir, Zullyadini A. Rahaman (2014). Nitrogen Loading Input into Merbok Estuary, Kedah, Malaysia. First Proc Non Point Source Pollution 14-15 Mei 2014, Hotel Vivatel. Kuala Lumpur.

5.     Seyedeh Laili Mohebbi Nozar, Wan Ruslan Ismail, and Mohamad Pauzi Zakaria. 2014. Distribution, Sources Identification, and Ecological Risk of PAHs and PCBs in Coastal Surface Sediments from the Northern Persian Gulf. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal. 20(6), 1507-1520. Doi 10.1080/10807039.2014.884410. Impact 1.292

6.     Seyedeh Laili Mohebbi Nozar, Wan Ruslan Ismail, Mohamad Pauzi Zakaria, Mohammad Seddiq Mortazavi, Mohammad Ali Zahed, Ali Jahanlu. 2014. Health Risk of PCBs and DDTs in Seafood from Southern Iran. Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal. 20(5), 1164-1176. doi10.1080/10807039.2013.838121. Impact 1.292.

7. Wan Ruslan Ismail, Narimah Samat & Nooriah Yusof (Eds) 2014. Kerja Lapangan: Teknik, Prosedur dan Aplikasi dalam Geografi. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit USM, 198pp. ISBN: 978-983-8617-000.

8. Mohd Khairul Amri Kamarudin, Mohd Ekhwan Toriman, Wan Ruslan Ismail, Muhammad Barzani Gasim, Nor Azlina Abd Aziz, Mohd Hafiz Rosli, Frankie Marcus Ata & Mohd Hafiz Saad. 2014. Perilaku Penghasilan Muatan Sedimen di Sungai Chini, Pahang. In: Mohd Ekhwan Toriman, Muhammad Barzani Gasim, Mohd Khairul Amri Kamarudin, Nor Azlina Abd Aziz & Hafizan Juahir. (Pnyt). Hidrologi Tanah Tinggi dan Tasik. Penerbit Universiti Sultan Zainal Abidin (UniSZA). Bab 9, hlm:195-214 (ISBN: 978-983-9842-72-2). 

9. Wan Ruslan Ismail. 2014. Kajian lapangan berkaitan ciri-ciri Pemendapan Beban Kelikir dan Bundar. Di dalam: Wan Ruslan Narimah Samat, Nooriah Yusof (Eds). Kerja Lapangan: Teknik, Prosedur dan Aplikasi dalam Geografi. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit USM, 82-93. ISBN: 978-983-8617-000.

10. Wan Ruslan Ismail, Amilaton Sofiroh Alyas, Nur Afiqah Ariffin, Rashidah Ahmad & Sarojini Ramanan 2014. Satu kajian mudah mengukur hakisan tanih. Di dalam: Wan Ruslan Narimah Samat, Nooriah Yusof (Eds). Kerja Lapangan: Teknik, Prosedur dan Aplikasi dalam Geografi. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit USM,115-126. ISBN: 978-983-8617-000.

11. Narimah Samat,  Wan Ruslan Ismail & Nooriah Yusof. 2014. Penutup.  Di dalam: Wan Ruslan Narimah Samat, Nooriah Yusof (Eds). Kerja Lapangan: Teknik, Prosedur dan Aplikasi dalam Geografi. Pulau Pinang: Penerbit USM,179-186. ISBN: 978-983-8617-000.