The Seasonal Current in Cirebon Waters
Erica M. Budiono (a), Lamona I. Bernawis (b, c), Mutiara R. Putri (b), Ivonne M. Radjawane (b, c), Rima Rachmayani (b), M. Riam Badriana (d), Arsy I. Hidayatullah (d), Ashadi A. Nur (d)

a) Study Program of Oceanography, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
b) Research Group of Oceanography, Faculty of Earth Sciences and Technology, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
mail corresponding author: lamona[at]itb.ac.id
c) Center for Coastal and Marine Development, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Ganesa 10, Bandung 40132, Indonesia
d) Korea Indonesia MTCRC (Marine Technology Cooperation Research Center) Cirebon Center, Institut Teknologi Bandung, Jalan Fatahillah 24, Watubelah, Kabupaten Cirebon 45611, Indonesia

Abstract

The waters of Cirebon are located in the Java Sea, characterized as a relatively shallow open bay, serving as a small basin that receives numerous river flows from Java and Kalimantan islands. The purpose of this research is to investigate the seasonal distribution of surface ocean currents in the Cirebon waters. Data was collected in May (transitional season I), July (east monsoon season), and October (transitional season II) of 2022 at 12 stations scattered across the open bay of Cirebon. The velocity and direction of the currents were measured using an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) installed on the research ship. The results showed that the currents predominantly moved towards the northwest during the transitional season I and east monsoon season, while during transitional season II, they predominantly moved northward in accordance with the seasonal wind patterns. The highest average current velocity occurred during the east monsoon season (0.082 m/s), followed by transitional season II (0.064 m/s), and the weakest in transitional season I (0.047 m/s). Additionally, a comparison between the observed data and Marine Copernicus reanalysis indicated a Root Mean Square Error (RMSE) value of 0.037.

Keywords: Cirebon Waters- Current- Season

Topic: Ocean-Atmosphere Dynamics