Machine learning models applied to altimetry era tide gauge and grid altimetry data for comparative long-term trend estimation: A study from Shikoku Island, Japan

Estimation of sea level trends is essential for understanding sea level rise dynamics. In this study, the performance of traditional Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) linear trend forecasting is compared with modern machine learning techniques, specifically Random Forests (RF) and Least Squares Support Vector Machines (LS-SVM).These methods are applied to 50 years of long-term tide gauge (TG) data from six tide gauge stations off the coast of Shikoku Island, Japan, and CMEMS Grid Altimetry data from 1993 to the present. The analysis uses OLS, RF, and LS-SVM to estimate trends from both data sets and compares the results. The objective is to determine the consistency and accuracy of RF and LS-SVM methods compared to the OLS method. The results indicate that machine learning algorithms (LS-SVM) effectively estimate sea level trends, offering potential improvements in precision for both long-term and medium-term analyses. Shikoku Island's coastal sea level trend is determined as 2.91±1.44 mm/yr using TG data and 3.00±1.52 mm/yr using CMEMS Grid Altimeter data with the OLS approach. Using the LS-SVM approach, the trend is found as 2.96±1.58 mm/yr with TG data and 3.02±1.60 mm/yr with CMEMS Grid Altimetry data. The novelty of this study lies in its thorough comparison of traditional and machine learning approaches for sea level trend estimation, providing valuable insights for future predictions of the sea level rise.