Characterizing favorable climatic and geographical conditions for salt farms: A case study of Madura Island
Rikha Bramawanto(1*), Suaydhi Suaydhi(1), Robi Muharsyah(2), Makhfud Efendy(3),

(1)Research Center for Climate and Atmosphere, National Research and Innovation Agency
(*) rikha.bramawanto[at]brin.go.id
(2)Meteorology, Climatology, and Geophysical Agency
(3)Marine Science, Trunojoyo University

Abstract

Madura is one of the salt production centers in Indonesia, especially in the southern part of the island. The reasons why the Madurese and VOC in the past built more salt farms on the south coast are still being determined. There are presumptions that differences in climatic factors are the reasons behind this condition. The study aims to reaffirm the justification for determining land suitable for salt farms on Madura Island. This article presents the climate characteristics of north and south coasts of Madura. The latitude line of 7 degree South roughly separates these two regions. The rainfall data are based on daily and monthly records of 39 rain gauges in Madura over 30 years. Limiting the missing data to less than 10 percent, five and nine locations in the northern and the southern, respectively, are used for this study. Researchers also analyzed soil properties and the elevation of the coast in both. The study results show that, on average, the rainfall in the south is slightly lower than in the north. As a result, the dry spell in the south is longer than in the north. On the other aspect, the expanse of flat area in the south is large than in the north. These conditions make the south of Madura more favorable for salt farming. However, the extensification of salt farms in northern Madura still has the potential to be developed.

Keywords: climate, dry spell, flat area, Madura, salt farming.

Topic: Interdisciplinary Geosciences