Indonesia drought is a boom for the salt industry
With Indonesia experiencing the worst drought in five years, which has affected 80% of the country's harvests, one bright spot is its salt industry, who have reported huge increases in production; the reason being that rainfall wrecks salt production as it dilutes the strength of the brines, whilst drought strengthens the brines, thereby increasing salt concentration and producing a better yield.

Indonesia is suffering its worst drought in five years, triggered by El Niño. Affecting 80 per cent of the country, it has been bad for everyone — except salt harvesters, who are reporting an increase in production.

How does drought aid the salt harvest? It’s actually basic science:

Sunshine doesn’t impact the amount of salt produced, rainfall does. If there is excessive rain in late summer, when it’s close to harvest time, it can wreck salt production because it dilutes the strength of the brines.

Drought, on the other hand, does the opposite: it strengthens the brines, increases salt concentration and results in a better yield.

John Smol, a professor at Queen’s University, draws an analogy between a boiling pot of soup and salt production: “If you leave a pot of soup on the stove at low flame, the soup level will get lower and lower, the soup will get saltier. It’s as simple as that.”

More evaporation means more salt, more salinity. In times of drought, even the quality of salt is better.

What is happening at geomembrane salt ponds in Indonesia happens in nature too, especially in Western Canada, says Smol.

“There are lakes in Western Canada, in the interiors of B.C., Alberta and parts of Manitoba that have no river going in and out. So if it has been a long, dry summer, the water just gets saltier and saltier,” he says.

In some such lakes in Western Canada, the salinity levels are higher than what is found in oceans, says Smol.

Such lakes, says Smol, are also a paleosalinity meter and help understand how bad droughts were thousands of years ago. Sediment accumulates in lakes over time tells what level of salt was there, which helps understand previous droughts.

It may be a good season for Indonesian salt producers but in most environments, salty water isn’t a good thing. “We can’t drink it (or) give it to livestock,” says Smol.

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