Application of Mathematical Modelling in Rainfall Forcast: A Csae Study in Sgs. Sarawak Basin

Abstract

Malaysia receives rainfall from 2000 mm to 4000 mm annually where it is greatly influenced by two monsoon periods in November to March and May to September. The state of Sarawak is well known for its long and wide rivers. Numerous activities such as commercial, industrial and residential can always be found in the vicinity of the rivers. The activities have started since decades ago and still continue to grow and spatially expanding through times providing incomes ranging from small farmers to the largest corporations. Unfortunately, these areas are expected to experience frequent flood events as well as possible receding water level in rivers based on the findings of previous studies. If the projections are accurate, the productivity of these activities will be reduced, hence, in a longer term may affect the economy of the state as whole as well. Therefore, there is an urgent need for existing knowledge on rainfall behavior to be revised as effects of climate change with the intention that the state can fully utilize the favorable conditions and make scientific based decisions in the future.Recent study reveals that the Fourier series (FS), has the ability to simulate long-term rainfall up to 300 years is viewed as an important finding in the study of rainfall forecast. Long-term rainfall forecasting is viewed to be beneficial to the state of Sarawak in its future planning in various sectors such as water supply, flood mitigation, river transportation as well as agriculture. The main goal of the study is to apply a mathematical modeling in rainfall forecasting for the Sungai Sarawak basin. Data from eight rain gauge stations was analyzed and prepared for missing data, consistency check and adequacy of number of stations. Simple statistical analysis was conducted on the data such as maximum, minimum, mean and standard deviation. 27 years of annual rainfall data were simulated with the Fourier Series equation using spreadsheet. Hence, the result was compared with the Fitting N-term Harmonic Series. The model result reveals that the Fourier Series has the ability to simulate the observed data by being able to describe the rainfall pattern and there is a reasonable relationship between the simulation and observed data with p-value of 0.93.