IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science

PAPER • OPEN ACCESS You may also like

- The effect of surge on riverine flood
The distribution of Siombak lake sediments, a hazard and impact in deltas globally
Dirk Eilander, Anaïs Couasnon, Hiroaki
tropical tidal lake in Indonesia Ikeuchi et al.

- Tide-rainfall flood quotient: an incisive

measure of comprehending a region’s
To cite this article: R Leidonald et al 2022 IOP Conf. Ser.: Earth Environ. Sci. 977 012117 response to storm-tide and pluvial flooding
Mohit Prakash Mohanty, Mazhuvanchery
Avarachen Sherly, Subimal Ghosh et al.

- Assessment of the Effect of High Tide and

Low Tide Condition on Stream Flow
View the article online for updates and enhancements. Velocity at Sungai Rompin’s Mouth
M N Akhtar, M T Anees and E A Bakar

This content was downloaded from IP address 103.111.141.45 on 19/07/2022 at 00:30

The 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Environment, and Food Security IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 977 (2022) 012117 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/977/1/012117

The distribution of Siombak lake sediments, a tropical tidal

lake in Indonesia

R Leidonald*, Z A Harahap and A Muhtadi

1
Departemen of Aquatic Resources Management, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas
Sumatera Utara, Medan, Sumatera Utara, Indonesia.

Email: *rusdi.leidonald@usu.ac.id

Abstract. Siombak Lake is one of Indonesia's tropical tidal lakes located in Medan City, North
Sumatra Province. This lake is very dynamic because the lake water level is fluctuating according
to the Belawan waters’ tidal (Malacca Strait). This study aims to determine the distribution of
sediments in Siombak Lake. The research was conducted from December 2018 - August 2019.
The observation locations were taken at 8 points representing all depth layers. The technique
used was the filtering analysis using the wet sieve method with stratified sediment filters in
different diameters (4.75 mm, 1.7 mm, 250 μm, 850 μm, 150 μm). The data analyzed were weight
percentage, texture type, C-organic, the content of nitrogen and phosphorus. The results of the
analysis of sediment samples show that there are 3 sediment textures, namely loam, silt loam,
and sandy loam. The C- Organic content in the sediments of Siombak Lake ranges from 1.73 -
5.10% at high tide and 1.91-4.40% at low tide. Nitrogen levels in the sediments range from 0.15
- 2.40% at high tide and 0.14-2.35% at low tide. Meanwhile, phosphorus levels in the sediments
range between 5.95 - 19.86 ppm at high tide and 1.27-16.35 ppm at low tide.

1. Introduction
Siombak Lake is one of the coastal lakes located on the coast of Medan City, North Sumatra Province.
This lake is an estuary ecosystem in the form of a wide puddle. Lake Siombak covers an area of 29 ha
with an average depth of 5.26 m at high tide and 2.96 m at low tide [1]. This lake is very unique because
the river flows into the lake through the Belmera River along 12 km from Belawan (Malacca Strait) and
is still affected by the sea tides [1]. The dynamics of these tides will certainly affect the dynamics of
lake water level (discharge/volume) [1,2], water quality (physics-chemistry) [2,3], aquatic organism
communities [4,5], and including sediment of water [6-8].
Floor sediment (substrate) at the bottom of waters plays an important role as a habitat for benthic
organisms, both plants and benthic animals, including bacteria that play an important role in the
decomposition of aquatic organic matter [9]. Another role of the substrate is as a place for the
accumulation and binding of various nutrients in waters [10]. However, the substrate can also be a place
for the accumulation of pollutants that are transported to the waters from the land or the surface waters
[11,12]. The substrate particles can also be a pollutant carrier agent [12].
Considering the importance of aquatic sediment characteristics to benthic communities and water
quality, it is necessary to study the distribution of sediments which includes sediment fraction, sediment
organic content, and nitrogen and phosphorus content of sediments. Research related to the
characteristics of the bottom sediments of Siombak Lake as a unique and distinctive lake ecosystem has
not been available so research on aquatic sediment is needed. Thus, this study aims to determine the
Content from this work may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 licence. Any further distribution
of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the title of the work, journal citation and DOI.
Published under licence by IOP Publishing Ltd 1
The 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Environment, and Food Security IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 977 (2022) 012117 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/977/1/012117

distribution of sediment fraction, sediment type and C-organic content as well as nitrogen and
phosphorus content of the sediment.

2. Materials and methods

2.1. Study site

This research was conducted in Siombak Lake, Medan City, North Sumatra Province, Indonesia. This
research was conducted in August 2019 (Figure 1). The tools used in this study were GPS, Eckman grab
echosounder, sample bottles, Multilevel sieves, Erlenmeyer flasks, coolboxes, lake crossed
transportation and stationery. The material used is a sediment sample.

Figure 1. Research location in Siombak lake.

2.2. Data retrieval procedure

Sediment sampling was carried out using a Petersen grab with a size of 30 x 30 cm with a sample depth
of 15 cm. The sediment samples obtained were dried for six days. Furthermore, 200 grams of each
sample were taken to be analyzed using the wet sieve method on a multilevel filter (sieve shaker)
measuring 4.75 mm, 1.70 mm, 850 μm, 250 μm, 150 μm and collected using a container medium [13].
After sieving, the remaining sediment samples at each filter size are dried again to be weighed each so
that the weight distribution of sediment is obtained based on the size range of the filter net density [14].
Meanwhile, for the analysis of C-organic materials, Nitrogen, and Phosphorus using the Atomic
Absorption Spectrophotometric method.

2
The 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Environment, and Food Security IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 977 (2022) 012117 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/977/1/012117

2.3. Data analysis

Calculation of the weight percentage of sediment can be known from each sediment fraction using the
equation:
𝑖_𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛_𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡
𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡_𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒 = 𝑆𝑎𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑒_𝑡𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑙_𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡 𝑋100% (1)

Where i fraction weight = Weight of each grain size fraction (g)

Determination of the average grain size can be known from each of these sediment samples by using the
equation:
𝑑 = ∑ 𝑓𝑟𝑎𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛_𝑤𝑒𝑖𝑔ℎ𝑡_𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑐𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑒/ 100 (2)
Where, d = Average grain size value (mm).

Furthermore, the sediment fraction data, C-organic, sediment nitrogen, and sediment phosphorus were
analyzed descriptively both spatially and temporally.

3. Results and discussion

3.1. Sediment fraction distribution

The results of the analysis of sediment samples in Siombak Lake in 2019 show that there are three
sediment textures, namely loam, silty loam and sandy loam. However, in 2016, there were five textures
of sediment, namely loamy sand, sandy clay, loam, sandy loam, and silty loam (Figure 2). The sediment
fraction found in Siombak Lake consists of 29–58% sand substrate, 23–60% silt, and 10–21% clay.
When viewed from the research results of Yolanda et al. [15] on the sediments in Belawan waters, it
shows that the sand fraction in the Belawan Sediment is very dominant with a concentration of 61–99%,
silt 1–29%, and clay 0–18%. The inlet/outlet area of Siombak Lake is dominated by loam because it is
the result of runoff from the surface of the land along the river that enters the river and is deposited
around the inlet to the southeast end in a perpendicular manner. Sand and silt are the most easily eroded
particles from the soil surface. Meanwhile, in the northern area of the lake, sand and silt particles are
eroded from the pond plains, while the finer particles (clay) are the result of washing the pond bottom
followed by tidal mechanisms.

Figure 2. The map of sediment fraction distribution in Siombak lake.

The dominant thing that affects the distribution of the sediment fraction is that it comes from runoff,
it can be proven from a higher organic c content in the substrate with a dominant fraction of sand or silt
(coarser) which should have higher c organic content in a smooth texture (clay dominant fraction)
because clay has a higher surface area for chelating organic matter. The type of sediment and its size is

3
The 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Environment, and Food Security IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 977 (2022) 012117 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/977/1/012117

one of the ecological factors and affects the organic matter content where the finer the substrate texture
the greater its ability to trap organic matter [10,16]. The bottom substrate type will also determine the
number and types of benthic animals in the water. The type of substrate such as sediment bottom in the
form of silt is very important in the development of benthic animal communities. Sand tends to make it
easier to shift and move elsewhere. The sediment in the form of silt usually contains little oxygen and
therefore the organisms that live in it must be able to adapt to this situation [10,16].

3.2. C Organic Distribution

The analysis results of C-Organic levels in the sediments in Siombak Lake ranged from 1.73 - 5.10% at
high tide and 1.91-4.40% at low tide. Spatially, both the tide and the ebb, the highest levels of C-Organic
were found in the eastern, northern and river areas, while the lowest was in the west and southwest
(Figure 3). The high and low organic matter content is thought to be related to the activities that occur
or the environmental conditions around it. Low soil organic C levels can indicate low organic matter
content or low decomposition rates. The low decomposition rate due to the high average depth of the
lake causes the sunlight penetration does not to go until the lake floor, becoming a limiting factor for
photosynthesis, which supplies oxygen to the water.
Environmental conditions that are directly affected by strong currents tend to have relatively low
organic matter [17,18]. In the western part with the inlet of the Terjun River which allows strong currents
so that the organic material 'drifts' to the middle and east. On the other hand, locations that tend to be
protected have relatively high levels of organic matter. In the east and north of Siombak Lake which is
far from the inlet and outlet with the possibility of low currents. Also, the higher C-organic in the eastern
and northern parts is strongly suspected due to more organic decomposition activity from mangrove leaf
falling [19] which is found on almost all the northern, eastern and southeastern sides of Siombak Lake.
Temporally, it shows that at the rainy season (December), C-Organic in Siombak Lake sediment has
the lowest content. while the highest C-organic is near the rainy season (August) (Figure 4). Changes in
the distribution of organic carbon in aquatic sediments occur due to differences in the source of sediment
origin, differences in seabed morphology, changes in water dynamics strength, utilization of water
fertility, and differences in water productivity when organic carbon material is deposited [20].

Figure 3. Map of the distribution of C-Organic in Siombak Lake’s sediment at high tide (left) and low
tide (right).
Sediment C-Organic in Siombak Lake is still higher than in the Belawan River Estuary with C-
organic concentrations ranging from 0.26–2.74% [15]. However, it is still lower than Banten Bay with
a range of 5.33 - 20.57% [18] and the estuary of Sungai Musi which reaches a range of 10.52 ± 0.36%
-17.92 ± 0.19% [19].

4
The 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Environment, and Food Security IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 977 (2022) 012117 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/977/1/012117

5.0 Dec Feb Jun Aug

Dec Feb Jun Aug
6.0

C-Organik (%)
4.0
C-Organik (%)

4.0 3.0
2.0
2.0
1.0
-
-
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Station Station
Figure 4. C-organik distribution in the sediment in Siombak Lake at high tide (left) and low tide (right).

3.3. The distribution of Nitrogen and Phosphorus in aquatic sediment

The analysis results of the average Nitrogen levels in the Siombak Lake sediments ranged from 0.15 -
2.40% at high tide and 0.14 - 2.35% at low tide. There is no significant difference in nitrogen at sediment
between high tides and low tides (Figure 5). Spatially at high tide, the highest nitrogen content is at
stations 3 and 5, but at low tide, it is inversely proportional to the high tide conditions where the highest
nitrogen content is at stations 2 and 4. Temporally it shows that August is the highest nitrogen
concentration and December is the lowest sediment nitrogen concentration (Figure 6). The existence of
variations in nitrogen, phosphorus and sediment organic content is due to differences in the source of
sediment origin, differences in lake bottom morphology, changes in the dynamic strength of waters,
utilization of water fertility, and differences in water productivity when organic carbon material is
deposited [19]. The percentage of N-total values in the waters of Siombak Lake is classified as high
and very high. The Center for Soil and Agro-climate Research and Development states that sediment
with a total N-0.1% - 0.3% is included in the low criteria, 0.3% - 0.6% is included in the moderate
criteria, 0.6% - 1.0% is in the high criteria and > 1.0 is in the very high category [20].

Figure 5. Map of Nitrogen distribution in the sediment in Siombak Lake at high tide (left) and low
tide (right).

5
The 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Environment, and Food Security IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 977 (2022) 012117 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/977/1/012117

3.0 Dec Feb Jun Aug

Dec Feb Jun Aug 3.0
Nitrogen (%)

Nitrogen (%)
2.0 2.0

1.0 1.0

- -
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Station Station
Figure 6. Nitrogen and phosphorus distribution in the sediment in Siombak Lake.
The analysis results of the average levels of phosphorus in the sediments in Siombak Lake range
between 5.95 - 19.86 ppm at high tide and 1.27-16.35 ppm at low tide. At high tide, the phosphorus
content in the sediment is higher than at low tide (Figure 7). This is thought to be related to the
decomposition of sediment released into the waters where the rate of decomposition is greater at low
tide (shallower at low tide) than at high tide. Spatially at high tide, the highest phosphorus content is at
stations 3 and 5, but at low tide, it is inversely proportional to high tide conditions where the highest
phosphorus content is at stations 2 and 6. Temporally shows that February is the highest phosphorus
concentration and June was the lowest concentration of sedimentary phosphorous (Figure 8).

Figure 7. Map of Phosphorus distribution (bottom) in sediment in Siombak Lake at high tide (left) and
low tide (right).

15 Dec Feb Jun Aug

Dec Feb Jun Aug 20
Fosfor (ppm)

Fosfor (ppm)

10 15
10
5
5
0 0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Station Station
Figure 8. Nitrogen and phosphorus distribution in the sediment in Siombak Lake.

6
The 5th International Conference on Agriculture, Environment, and Food Security IOP Publishing
IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science 977 (2022) 012117 doi:10.1088/1755-1315/977/1/012117

4. Conclusions
Sediment in Siombak Lake shows that there are 3 textures of sediment, namely loam, silty loam, and
sandy loam. C-Organic content in sediment in Siombak Lake ranges between 1.73 - 5.10% at high tide
and 1.91- 4.40% at low tide. Nitrogen content in sediments range from 0.15 - 2.40% at high tide and
0.14 - 2.35% at low tide. While Phosphorus content in sediments in Siombak Lake ranges between 5.95
- 19.86 ppm at high tide and 1.27-16.35 ppm at low tide.

References
[1] Muhtadi A, Yulianda F, Boer M, Krisanti M, Rahmadya A and Santos 2020 Hydrodynamics of
Tropical Tidal Lake Waters, Siombak Lake Medan Indonesia AACL Bioflux 13 (4) pp 2014-31
[2] Zandagba J, Moussa M, Obada E and Afouda A 2016 Hydrodynamic Modeling of Nokoué
Lake in Benin Hydrology 3 (44) pp 2-17
[3] Elshemy M, Khadr M, Atta Y and Ahmed A 2016 Hydrodynamic and water quality modeling of
Lake Manzala (Egypt) under data scarcity Environ Earth Sci, 75 pp 13-29
[4] Leidonald R, I Lesmana, A Muhtadi and Desrita 2019 Biodiversity flora and fauna in tropical tidal
lake. IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environment. science.260 (2019) 012105
[5] Muhtadi A, Pulungan A, Nurmaiyah, Fadlhin A, Melati P, Sinaga R Z, Uliya R, Rizki M, Rohim N,
Ifanda D, et al., 2020 The dynamics of the plankton community on Lake Siombak, a tropical tidal
lake in North Sumatra, Indonesia. Biodiversitas 21 (8) pp 3707-19
[6] Liu X and Ge C 2012 Spatial and temporal variations of sedimented organic matter in Xiaohai
Lagoon, Hainan Island. Acta Oceanol. Sin. 31 (3) pp 74-86
[7] De Falco G, Magni P, Teräsvuori LMH and Matteucci G 2007 Sediment grain size and organic
carbon distribution in the Cabras lagoon (Sardinia, Western Mediterranean) J. Chem. Ecol. 20
(Issue sup1) : 367-377
[8] Renzi M, Provenza F, Pignattelli S, Cilenti L, Specchiulli A and Pepi M 2019 Mediterranean
Coastal Lagoons: The Importance of Monitoring in Sediments the Biochemical Composition of
Organic Matter Int.J.Environ. Res.Public Health 16, 3466 pp 1-20
[9] Nybakken JW 1992 Marine Biology An Ecological Approach Translated by Eidman
M, Koesoebiono, Bangen DG, Hutomo M and Sukarjo S (Jakarta: Gramedia) pp 459.
[10] Van Colen C, Verbelen D, Devos K, Agten L, Van Tomme J, Vincx M and Degraer S 2014
Sediment-benthos relationships as a tool to assist in conservation practices in a coastal lagoon
subjected to sediment change Biodivers. Conserv. 23 (4) pp 877–889
[11] Muhtadi A, Yulianda F, Boer M and Krisanti M 2020 Spatial distribution of mangroves in tidal
lake ecosystem. IOP Conf. Ser. Earth Environment. science. 454 (2020) 012131
[12] Riena NN, Putri WAE and Agustriani F 2012 Analisis Kualitas Perairan Muara Way Belau
Bandar Lampung [Analysis of the quality of the estuary waters of Way Belau Bandar Lampung]
Maspari Journal 4 (1) pp 116-121
[13] Wentworth CK 1922 A scale of grade and class term for clastic sediment Geology 30 pp 337-92
[14] Sheppard EP 1954 Nomenclature based on sand silt clay ratios J. Sediment. Petrol. 24 (4) pp 151-
58
[15] Yolanda Y, Effendi H and Sartono B 2019 Konsentrasi C-organik dan substrat sedimen di
perairan Pelabuhan Belawan, Medan [Concentration of C-organic and sediment substrate in the
waters of Belawan Port, Medan] J. Pengelolaan Lingkung. Berkelanjutan 3 (2) pp 300-08
[16] Rhoads DC and Boyer LF 1982 The Effects of Marine Benthos on Physical Properties of
Sediments. In: McCall PL, Tevesz MJS, ditor. Topics in Geobiology 100 3–52
[17] Rustam A, Adi NS, Mustikasari E, Kepel TL and Kusumaningtyas MA 2018 Karakteristik
Distribusi Sedimen dan Laju Sedimentasi di Teluk Banten [haracteristics of Sediment
Distribution and Sedimentation Rate in Banten Bay] J. Segara 14 (3) pp 137-44
[18] Barus BS, Aryawati R, Putri WAE, Nurjuliasti E, Diansyah G and Sitorus E 2019 Hubungan
Sedimen N-Total dan C-Organik Dengan Makrozoobentos di Perairan Pulau Payung, Banyuasin,
Sumatera Selatan [Relationship between N-Total and C-Organic Sediment with Macrozoobenthos
in Payung Island Waters, Banyuasin, South Sumatra] J Kelaut Trop 22 (2) pp 147-56
[19] Permanawati Y and Hernawan U 2018 Distribusi Karbon Organik pada Sedimen Inti Perairan
Lembata, Laut Flores [Distribution of Organic Carbon in Core Sediments in Lembata Waters,
Flores Sea] J Geol Kelaut 16 (1) pp 51-66
[20] Sulaeman, Suparto and Eviati 2005 Pedoman Teknis Analisis Kimia Tanah, Tanaman, Air, dan
Pupuk [Technical Guidelines for Chemical Analysis of Soil, Plants, Water, and Fertilizers]
(Bogor (ID): Soil Research Institute)