<![CDATA[The Padelegan coast of Pamekasan, Madura, is an important source of raw seawater for traditional salt ponds; however, the suitability of this water is strongly affected by spatial variation in physical properties. This study evaluated the physical characteristics of seawater used as salt-pond raw material at 15 stations representing nearshore, estuarine, and offshore waters. Temperature, salinity, brightness, turbidity, and total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured in situ, whereas total suspended solids (TSS), viscosity, density, and specific gravity (SG) were analyzed in the laboratory. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and spatial visualization were performed in RStudio using R. Salinity ranged from 29.67 to 32.67 ppt, temperature from 27.67 to 31.60 °C, brightness from 0.35 to 0.80 m, turbidity from 0.08 to 64.5 NTU, and density from 1.006147 to 1.008313 g/cm³. Nearshore and estuarine stations generally showed higher turbidity and TSS and lower water transparency, indicating a stronger influence of suspended sediments and land-derived inputs. In contrast, offshore stations showed clearer water and more stable marine characteristics. Brightness was strongly positively correlated with temperature (r = 0.84), while salinity and density showed a moderate positive correlation (r = 0.59) within the observed dataset. These findings indicate that raw seawater intake for salt ponds in Padelegan should prioritize clearer and more stable water sources, while sediment control is required at land-influenced stations to improve salt-pond productivity and raw-material quality.]]>
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