ITS’ 231st Professor, Prof Dr Eko Yuli Handoko ST MT, presenting his scientific oration during the Open Session for the Inauguration of ITS Professors at Grha Sepuluh Nopember ITS

ITS Campus, ITS News — Climate change is increasingly felt, one of which is seen in the sea level rise that haunts Indonesia. This issue became the main focus of the scientific oration by Prof Dr Eko Yuli Handoko ST MT when he was inaugurated as the 231st Professor of Institut Teknologi Sepuluh Nopember (ITS) in the field of Satellite Geodesy.

Through the scientific oration titled Altimetry Satellites and Climate Change: Monitoring Sea Level Rise in Indonesia, Eko emphasized the importance of satellite altimetry as an instrument to understand sea level rise trends. Accurate data, according to him, becomes the basis for adaptation policies, infrastructure development, as well as national resilience. “Satellite data becomes the foothold for climate change policy,” explained this Professor from the ITS Geomatics Engineering Department.

Furthermore, Eko explained that the altimeter instrument works by emitting a radar signal to the sea and calculating its return reflection time, producing sea surface height data with centimeter precision. This technology is very vital for an archipelagic country like Indonesia because it does not depend on limited land-based stations. “Satellite altimetry can reach thousands of islands in Indonesia,” said the eldest of the three siblings.

Prof Dr Eko Yuli Handoko ST MT explaining the trend of sea level rise in Indonesia

Nevertheless, Eko highlighted the technical challenges in monitoring coastal areas, which are often disturbed by land conditions in coastal areas and shallow seas. To overcome this, this man born in 1974 integrated altimetry data with the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR). “By combining the three, we obtain relative sea level rise data that is felt by the community,” he explained.

Not only that, Eko also developed a method for improving the quality of altimetry data in tropical regions, including Indonesia, which is often constrained by high atmospheric water vapor. To overcome this satellite radar signal interference, he utilized data from land-based GNSS stations to perform a Wet Tropospheric Correction with the GNSS-derived Path Delay (GPD) approach. “The sea level rise data becomes more reliable, especially on the coast,” he stated.

The awarding of the professor inauguration certificate by the Head of the ITS Professor Council, Prof Dr Ir Imam Robanti MT PhD (left), to Prof Dr Eko Yuli Handoko ST MT after the professor inauguration

According to Eko, this research has broad benefits for the Indonesian nation. Accurate data regarding sea level rise can be the basis for the government to formulate climate change adaptation policies, such as coastal spatial planning, development of protective infrastructure, to the mitigation of tidal flood disasters. “This information is crucial to protect the nation’s strategic assets located in coastal areas,” affirmed this man from Pringsewu, Lampung.

The contribution of Eko’s research also supports Indonesia’s commitment to the Paris Agreement. Not only that, this research also contributes to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) point 11 regarding sustainable cities, point 13 concerning climate action, as well as point 14 related to marine ecosystems. (ITS PUBLIC RELATIONS)

Reporter: Naurah Fitri