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| Titel |
Coastal salt pans: strengthening the new emerging role of Maltese shore platforms for geo-tourism with GIS Mapping |
| VerfasserIn |
Ritienne Gauci, John A. Schembri, Raphael Mizzi, Rob Inkpen |
| Konferenz |
EGU General Assembly 2015
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| Medientyp |
Artikel
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| Sprache |
Englisch
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| Digitales Dokument |
PDF |
| Erschienen |
In: GRA - Volume 17 (2015) |
| Datensatznummer |
250110117
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| Publikation (Nr.) |
 EGU/EGU2015-10090.pdf |
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| Zusammenfassung |
| Salt has been a foremost natural resource for millennia with a wide range of uses from
preserving edible foods, and cooking with it, to cleaning, laundry, hygiene, and as a
medicinal balm. The Mediterranean, with its long indented coastline, numerous islands and a
distinctive climate has been a favourable area for salt production from sea water. It was the
source of supply of salt to the Eurasian land mass, and trekking it through to sub-Saharan
Africa. With a salinity of around 36 ppt, the Mediterranean is one of the most productive
areas in the globe for salt yield per volume of water.
In small islands with poor natural resources, the production of salt from sea water,
through insolation, aeolian processes and intense human endeavour, offered economic
benefits and created a socio-environmental cultural heritage around the sites of production of
this staple resource. The Maltese Islands are no exception to this activity with rectangular or
oblong pans etched on the softer surface limestone of Malta and Gozo. Located strategically
on the foreshore, the rectangular (0.5-1.5 m2), shallow pits (ca 15cm), supplemented by
larger reservoirs occupy significant areas as near to the shoreline as possible. There are about
40 artisanal sites along the littoral varying in area from one thousand to 17,000 m2and
with their nearest point located between one and ten metres from the water’s edge.
Some are no longer in use. Their total area around the islands is about 170,000
m2.
This aim of this paper is to explore the multiple geographies of still existing salt pans in
selected sites on Malta. This research aims to map out the traditional but complex
management system present at each selected shore platform site, some of which are
considered the best preserved salt pans on the Islands. Consequently, they transform into
focal touristic attractions, especially during the summer months when a daily display of soil
harvesting work can be witnessed and admired. The mapping and management
analysis aims to highlight the unique industrial setting behind this industry and
provide additional impetus to geo-tourism support and geo-heritage conservation
status.
Keywords: salt pans, shore platform, GIS, geo-tourism, Maltese Islands. |
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