New Lake In Sikumana Kupang After Seroja Tropical Cyclone, Expert: Types Of Lake Dolina, May Be Depleted In Dry Season

Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Geologists, East Nusa Tenggara Province, Dr. Herry Kota (Photo: ANTARA)

KUPANG - Chairman of the Association of Indonesian Geologists in East Nusa Tenggara Province, Dr. Herry Kota said, the natural phenomenon of the formation of a new lake in Sikumana Village, Kupang City during a tropical cyclone, Seroja is a type of Dolina lake.

"The newly formed lake in Sikumana is included in the category of Dolina lake or karst lake," said Herry Kota when met by reporters at the lake.

The formation of lakes like this often occurs in areas that are included in areas with karst topography or landscapes that have a distinctive hydrological cycle as a result of the development of carbonate rocks.

"The area of Kupang City with karst topography consists of extensive limestone so that if there is rain with high intensity there will be a process of erosion or very high limestone dissolving," he said.

According to Herry Kota, who is also the Head of the Center for Environmental and Natural Resources Research, Argo Ecology, University of Nusa Cendana (Undana), Kupang City is a karst topographic area with a high level of alignment and irregular basins and outcrops and rocky hills with the underground flow and the existence of a cave has the potential for the formation of Dolina Lake.

According to him, the very high intensity of rain during a tropical cyclone of Seroja allows the formation of a Dolina lake, as happened in Sikumana Village.

He said that Dana Dolina is a seasonal lake so that when the dry season is high, the water becomes dry again.

"If there is rain with high intensity, then the formation of the lake will again occur because the water supply is very high from new springs that have appeared around the location of this lake," said Herry Kota.

According to him, the potential for landslides in the surrounding area is very small, because there is no large water pressure leading to the newly formed lake.

He estimates that the water in the lake in Sikumana Village will dry up again when the East Nusa Tenggara (NTT) region enters the dry season in October