SOIL SALINITY ASSESSMENT IN TSUNAMI- AFFECTED AREAS OF ACEH USING THE ELECTROMAGNETIC INDUCTION METHOD

The Indian Ocean tsunami salinised agricultural soils on the coastline of Aceh, and significantly reduced crop production. This paper presents soil salinity data from tsunami affected areas of Aceh, obtained using the electromagnetic induction method (Geonic EM38 instrument). EM38 measures the apparent electrical conductivity of the soil profile (ECa). ECa was measured in both horizontal and vertical modes, at three month intervals from August 2005 on 21 permanent sites across Aceh Besar, Bireuen, Pidie, and Banda Aceh districts.