Borneo Region Research Articles

Fungal community composition in arthropogenically-active and non-active northern Borneo caves

Fungal studies are scant within this region of Borneo, and the potential effects of anthropogenic disturbance on fungal communities in Sabahan caves have not been explored. This study involved opportunistic sampling of guano, speleothems, and cavern water from four caves in Sabah, Malaysia, categorised according to the level of anthropogenic activity. The dilution method was used for fungal isolation and abundance calculations. Morphological identification of axenic cultures was conducted, and DNA barcoding of the ITS region of cryptic species corroborated identification. A total of 170 axenic cultures were attained, composed of 69 morphological taxonomic units (MTUs), 33 genera, ten orders, and two divisions – Ascomycota and Basidiomycota. Fifty-seven of the 69 MTUs were identified to the species level. The genera Aspergillus and Penicillium were particularly prevalent, with a combined total of 86 isolations (50.6%). Notably, twelve species were documented for the first time in cave ecosystems of Sabah. The average fungal abundance across all substrates and fungal taxa occurrence was found to be higher in samples found in active caves. A significant difference in relative abundance was observed between active and non-active cave conditions. Beta regression modelling indicated that anthropogenic activity is a significant factor influencing the composition of cave fungal communities. While anthropogenic activity seems to affect cave mycobiomes, especially by selecting for ubiquitous fungi, it is likely not the sole influencing determinant of their composition.

Multiple mineralization events in the Central Borneo metallogenic belt, Indonesia: Insights from the Beruang Kanan orefield

The Beruang Kanan is an important polymetallic orefield in Indonesia and is the first reported example of coexisting Cretaceous and Miocene mineralization on the island of Borneo. This study presents new U-Pb-Hf isotope and pyrite chemistry data to characterize the tectono-magmatic events tied to the ore formation at Beruang Kanan, and to establish the geochronological framework for gold and base metal mineralization across the Central Borneo region. Base metal mineralization (ca. 102–105 Ma) was closely linked to the emplacement of Sepauk tonalite (ca. 120–108 Ma) and its associated volcanism. Gold mineralization (ca. 13.09–9.18 Ma) was associated with the emplacement of Sintang intrusion (ca. 13.94–9.33 Ma). Pyrite grains from the Cretaceous Menunuk volcanics has lower gold content than those from the Miocene Malasan volcanics, reflecting the multi-phase nature of the mineralization at Beruang Kanan. The Cretaceous and Miocene magmatism may have mainly formed the base-metal and gold-silver mineralization, respectively. Central Bornean ore deposits from both metallogenic epochs are attributed to calc-alkaline subduction-related magmatism. The metallogenic potential of intra-plate volcanic rocks and granitoids formed in the Jurassic and Plio-Pleistocene period has yet to be explored.

Quantifying causal teleconnections to drought and fire risks in Indonesian Borneo

AbstractFires occurring over the peatlands in Indonesian Borneo accompanied by droughts have posed devastating impacts on human health, livelihoods, economy and the natural environment, and their prevention requires comprehensive understanding of climate‐associated risk. Although it is widely known that the droughts are associated with El Niño events, the onset process of El Niño and thus the drought precursors and their possible changes under the future climate are not clearly understood. Here, we use a causal network approach to quantify the strength of teleconnections to droughts at a seasonal timescale shown in observations and climate models. We portray two drivers of June‐July‐August (JJA) droughts identified through literature review and causal analysis, namely Niño 3.4 sea surface temperature (SST) in JJA (El Niño Southern Oscillation [abbreviated as ENSO]) and SST anomaly over the eastern North Pacific to the east of the Hawaiian Islands (abbreviated as Pacific SST) in March‐April‐May (MAM) period. We argue that the droughts are strongly linked to ENSO variability, with drier years corresponding to El Niño conditions. The droughts can be predicted with a lead time of 3 months based on their associations with Pacific SST, with higher SST preceding drier conditions. We find that under the SSP585 scenario, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Phase 6 (CMIP6) multi‐model ensembles show significant increase in both the maximum number of consecutive dry days in the Indonesian Borneo region in JJA (p = 0.006) and its linear association with Pacific SST in MAM (p = 0.001) from year 2061 to 2100 compared with the historical baseline. Some models are showing unrealistic amounts of JJA rainfall and underestimate drought risks in Indonesian Borneo and their teleconnections, owing to the underestimation of ENSO amplitude and overestimation of local convections. Our study strengthens the possibility of early warning triggers of fires and stresses the need for taking enhanced climate risk into consideration when formulating long‐term policies to eliminate fires.

Another New Species of the Cyrtodactylus annulatus Complex (Squamata: Gekkonidae) from Maratua an Adjacent Island to Borneo, Indonesia

The region of Borneo is very interesting in its diversity of gekkonid lizards of the genus Cyrtodactylus. Until now, it is known to harbor 14 described species. Herein, we described a new member of this genus from the adjacent island of Maratua. Cyrtodactylus tehetehe sp. nov. is named after the specialty of the traditional cuisine of the Derawan Islands (sticky rice with coconut milk and a little salt wrapped in sea urchin skin, Echinoidea spp.). The new species forms a tight phylogenetic clade with Philippine taxa allied to C. annulatus and is sister to the Palawan species C. tautbatorum, a biogeographic surprise, given that C. jambangan and C. annulatus occur closer geographically, in the Sulu Archipelago. The new species can be distinguished from all other congeners by a combination of characters including maximum SVL, number of supralabials, infralabials, longitudinal dorsal tubercle rows, paravertebral tubercles, ventral scale rows, subdigital lamellae on fourth toe, by having tubercles on ventrolateral body folds, a single precloacal pore and enlarged precloacal scales, lacking tubercles on upper arm, enlarged femoral scales and respective pores, precloacal depression, and transversely enlarged median subcaudals.

A Book Review on Knowledge, Tradition and Civilization: Essays in Honour of Professor Osman Bakar edited by Khairudin Aljunied. United Kingdom: Beacon Books and Media Ltd. ISBN: 9781915025425. 2022

Summary:
 This book, a collection of essays honoring Muslim scholar-activist Osman Bakar, edited by Khairudin Aljunied, highlights Bakar's contributions to Islamic studies. Featuring renowned scholars and activists, the volume covers two main themes: "The Production and Problem of Knowledge" and "Civilizational Unity and Renewal." The book provides a comprehensive introduction to Bakar's work but omits aspects of his political thought and sacred studies. Furthermore, his activist side is not given enough attention. Despite these shortcomings, the book is a must-read for those seeking to understand Bakar's thoughts, as his ideas offer valuable insights for the study of knowledge, tradition, and civilization in the Islamic world and the region of Borneo.

Microclimatic Variation in Miri Region (NW Borneo): Inference from Rainfall and Temperature Trends, Isotopic Signature and Air Mass Movement

Trend analysis is frequently utilised to identify the changes in meteorological and hydrologic time series data, such as rainfall and temperature. The variations in the intensity, rainfall pattern and temperature have gradually changed globally. Hence, in this study, an attempt was made to analyse the decadal rainfall and surface air temperature data to understand the microclimatic variations in the Miri coastal region of NW Borneo. A data series of records for daily total rainfall amount and daily surface temperature of 11 years from 2010 to 2021 was studied and analysed. In addition, representative rainwater and groundwater samples were collected and analysed for hydrochemical parameters and oxygen and hydrogen isotopes. A detailed literature review was carried out on rainfall patterns in Malaysia, which was used for the comparative study. Interpretation of results shows that the northeast monsoon (NEM) contributed a higher total rainfall rate with lower daily mean surface air temperature over the years compared to the southwest monsoon (SWM). The recorded data for rainfall amounts in SWM for the month of May, July, August and September were higher, particularly for the years 2010 and 2020. During NEM, a higher rainfall amount was recorded in the month of January for several years. February month has always been among the driest month in NEM, and September has been the wettest month throughout the year during SWM. The isotopic values of rainwater indicate a similar moisture source to the regional precipitation trend. Groundwater isotopes reveal the low water-rock ratio of retrograde exchange between water and primary silicate minerals in the aquifer. The moisture source of the precipitation was contributed from both oceanic and continent, affecting the rainfall intensity in this region. This study is a crucial outcome to determine the potential impacts of microclimatic variations on the rainfall patterns in the Miri coastal region.

Phytochemical Screening and Antioxidant Activity of Tampoi Leaves (Baccaurea macrocarpa (Miq.)Mull.Arg ) by Leaf Age and Solvent Type

Tampoi (Baccaurea macrocarpa (Miq.) Mull.Arg) is a member of the genus Baccaurea which is distributed mainly in the regions of Borneo and Sumatra. The use of tampoi can be done by exploring the potential of tampoi plants as medicinal plants. The research was conducted to determine the content of secondary metabolites and the results of the analysis of the antioxidant activity of tampoi leaves. The leaf extraction process uses polar solvents in the form of water, 70% ethanol, 70% methanol and non-polar in the form of chloroform, toluene, and n-hexane. Analysis of antioxidant activity using the DPPH method (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazil). The results showed that polar solvents are better used in extracting secondary metabolites of tampoi leaves in non-plar solvents. The conclusion of this study is the types of secondary metabolites contained in tampoi leaves, namely alkaloids, flavonoids, saponins, tannins, steroids, and triterpenoids. Young tampoi leaves have a stronger antioxidant activity value than old leaves. The most effective solvent for extracting secondary metabolite compounds of tampoi leaves is 70% methanol.

ANALISIS KONDISI KESEHATAN DALAM KONTEN BERITA BINTANG BORNEO TAHUN 1928

Health conditions in the content analysis of Bintang Borneo in 1928 is a topic that reflects an important aspect in the history of public health in the Borneo region in that period. This analysis reveals information about health problems, disease prevention efforts, and community responses to health issues in 1928. The historical data shows that during that time, communities in Borneo faced serious challenges related to infectious diseases, limited access to medical care, and social and economic changes that affected health well-being. Further research in this context can provide valuable insights into how health conditions have evolved and inspire a deeper understanding of social change and healthcare in the region.

A Book Review on Knowledge, Tradition and Civilization: Essays in Honour of Professor Osman Bakar

Summary:
 This book, a collection of essays honoring Muslim scholar-activist Osman Bakar, edited by Khairudin Aljunied, highlights Bakar's contributions to Islamic studies. Featuring renowned scholars and activists, the volume covers two main themes: "The Production and Problem of Knowledge" and "Civilizational Unity and Renewal." The book provides a comprehensive introduction to Bakar's work but omits aspects of his political thought and sacred studies. Furthermore, his activist side is not given enough attention. Despite these shortcomings, the book is a must-read for those seeking to understand Bakar's thoughts, as his ideas offer valuable insights for the study of knowledge, tradition, and civilization in the Islamic world and the region of Borneo.

A practical illustration of spatial smoothing methods for disconnected regions with INLA: spatial survey on overweight and obesity in Malaysia

BackgroundNational prevalence could mask subnational heterogeneity in disease occurrence, and disease mapping is an important tool to illustrate the spatial pattern of disease. However, there is limited information on techniques for the specification of conditional autoregressive models in disease mapping involving disconnected regions. This study explores available techniques for producing district-level prevalence estimates for disconnected regions, using as an example childhood overweight in Malaysia, which consists of the Peninsular and Borneo regions separated by the South China Sea. We used data from Malaysia National Health and Morbidity Survey conducted in 2015. We adopted Bayesian hierarchical modelling using the integrated nested Laplace approximation (INLA) program in R-software to model the spatial distribution of overweight among 6301 children aged 5–17 years across 144 districts located in two disconnected regions. We illustrate different types of spatial models for prevalence mapping across disconnected regions, taking into account the survey design and adjusting for district-level demographic and socioeconomic covariates.ResultsThe spatial model with split random effects and a common intercept has the lowest Deviance and Watanabe Information Criteria. There was evidence of a spatial pattern in the prevalence of childhood overweight across districts. An increasing trend in smoothed prevalence of overweight was observed when moving from the east to the west of the Peninsular and Borneo regions. The proportion of Bumiputera ethnicity in the district had a significant negative association with childhood overweight: the higher the proportion of Bumiputera ethnicity in the district, the lower the prevalence of childhood overweight.ConclusionThis study illustrates different available techniques for mapping prevalence across districts in disconnected regions using survey data. These techniques can be utilized to produce reliable subnational estimates for any areas that comprise of disconnected regions. Through the example, we learned that the best-fit model was the one that considered the separate variations of the individual regions. We discovered that the occurrence of childhood overweight in Malaysia followed a spatial pattern with an east–west gradient trend, and we identified districts with high prevalence of overweight. This information could help policy makers in making informed decisions for targeted public health interventions in high-risk areas.

Acute Oral Toxicity Evaluation of Extract Bajakah (Spatholobus littoralis Hassk) in Mice

One potential biodiversity as traditional medicine is bajakah (Spatholobus littoralis Hassk.). Bajakah is an herbal plant that has been used in the Borneo region, Indonesia. However, there are not enough data regarding the toxicity of this plant. Therefore, in this study, we aimed to determine acute toxicity in the form of a lethal dose value of 50% (LD50) and the effect on behaviour and organ macroscopic after administration of S. littoralis methanol extract. The LD50 test used 50 male mice divided into five groups of 5 mice each. The treatment groups were divided based on the concentration of the given extract, namely; 0, 1, 10, 100, and 1000 mg/g BW. Observations were made for 14 days after treatment, and then surgery and macroscopic observations were made on the organs of mice. The results showed that the LD50 value for replication A and B was 17.78 and 68.13 mg/Kg BW, respectively. Macroscopic observations found damage to the liver, heart, and stomach. The macroscopic assessment by ANOVA and Kruskal Wallis test showed that in the replication A there was a toxic effect on the stomach, which was marked by a significant difference in weight compared to the control at the test level of p 0.05. These data revealed that the methanol extract of S. littoralis lignum is categorized as very toxic, and therefore, it requires special attention in its use. However, further research needs to be done to support the results of this study.

Preface

As a university located in the South Borneo region, Lambung Mangkurat University (ULM) has academic and moral responsibilities to conserve Borneo’s “lungs of the World”. Especially for the Graduate School of Civil Engineering ULM, a series of national seminars has been held annually. The Graduate school of Civil Engineering has already organized the Annual National Seminar since 2014 on several themes and sub-themes regarding sustainable development. Furthermore, since 2021, the Graduate School of Civil Engineering has been organizing the International Symposium on Civil Engineering and Environmental Research (ISCEER) to improve the quality of the seminars and reach a broader range of speakers and participants also planned to be held annually. In 2022 we already held the 2nd ISCEER. The theme for the 2nd ISCEER is “Research and Technology Updates in Civil and Environmental Engineering to Support Sustainable Development”. The symposium was held on October 24 - 25, 2022.In the symposium, we discussed the latest findings regarding Research and Technology Updates in Civil and Environmental Engineering to Support Sustainable Development, including but not limited to the following:a. Structural and material engineeringb. Water engineeringc. Environmental engineeringd. Geotechnical engineeringe. Transportation management, andf. Construction managementThis symposium aims to produce documents on points of view and ideas generated by cross-disciplinary speakers who have great concern for Civil Engineering and Environmental Research in terms of sustainable development in general and specifically in green construction. This activity is expected to encourage the passion for researching green technology for sustainable development. As a result, this is moving towards sustainable development publications published in national and international journals. It becomes suggestions for policy-makers in the context of sustainable development, which are always close to people’s lives and their environments.Apart from that, in the current pandemic situation, the condition of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (Covid -19) pandemic has implications for many aspects of life. Therefore, same as the 1st ISCEER, the 2nd ISCEER was held online using Zoom Platform. All of the Keynote speakers, Invited Speakers, and Regular Speakers from different countries presented their latest research finding through video conference. In addition to the speakers, participants followed the event online through Zoom Platform or watched live streaming of the activities through YouTube.The committee organizes online activities in Banjarbaru, South Kalimantan, Indonesia. Even though it was held online, it was carefully prepared using suitable multimedia devices so that the impression of an offline event was still felt, especially during the opening ceremony. This symposium was attended by more than 200 people consisting of academics, activists, researchers, and relevant stakeholders related to green technology for sustainable development from all over the world. The conference was divided into several sessions. The presentation is held on a panel (consisting of 3 presenters) with 10 presentation times for each presenter, followed by 15 minutes of Q & A.On this occasion, the committee of the 2nd ISCEER would like to express our deep appreciation to our co-host the Cebu Technological University, Philippines, and our sponsors, Public Works and Construction Development Offices of South Kalimantan Province and others, for their supports and participation in realizing this event through enormous contributions from their sponsorships. Finally, we hope this special event can contribute many benefits to developing knowledge, especially for sustainable development in Civil and Environmental Engineering.List of Advisory Board, Organizing Committees are available in this Pdf.

‘Bergendang’ and Its Spatial Use in Traditional Sarawak Malay House

Bergendang is a uniquely Sarawak Malay traditional entertainment frequently held during social gatherings at home. This paper investigates the spatial use of bergendang activity in traditional Malay houses along the Sarawak River in Kuching. The research employed a qualitative case study design approach through field study observation and semi-structured interviews. Findings revealed different spatial use of bergendang for early and later model of Sarawak Malay houses, which is also associated with social status of house owners. Spatial study on traditional Malay houses in other parts of Sarawak is recommended for constructing northern Borneo region's vernacular Malay house framework.

A preliminary results: study of crustal thickness in eastern part of Borneo, Indonesia from teleseismic receiver function analysis

The island of Borneo has relatively low seismic activity. However, the plan to relocate the capital city to the East Borneo region could potentially increase the population, making the area more vulnerable to earthquake occurrences. Therefore, this research aims to determine the depth of the Mohorovičić discontinuity layer, which will provide insights into the thickness of the Earth's crust, and model the local P and S wave velocities using the Inversion, Migration, and Stacking H-k methods. The data used consists of earthquake events with magnitudes greater than 6, located within a distance of 30° to 90° from 6 BMKG stations around the new capital of Indonesia. The research results indicate that the depth of the Mohorovičić discontinuity layer varies between 28 and 43 km. The model of P-wave velocities varies between 1.8 km/s to 9.1 km/s, while the model of S-wave velocities ranges from 1.0 km/s to 5.1 km/s.

RESPON MASYARAKAT DAYAK TERHADAP ORGANISASI KRISTEN DI BORNEO PADA TAHUN 1928-1930

This During the period between 1928 and 1930, Christian religious organizations entered the Borneo region with the primary intention of spreading the teachings of Christianity to the Dayak community. The Dayak people, living in a unique and culturally rich social environment, serve as the primary focus of this research. This article aims to investigate and comprehend the responses exhibited by the Dayak community to the presence of Christian religious organizations, exploring the influences generated by such interactions, and analyzing the roles and responses of the Dayak people in the face of this new religious influx. The Dayak community, with its complex social structure and strong cultural beliefs, provides an intriguing context for understanding how Christian teachings permeated and interacted with the local culture. Christian organizations during this period were committed to disseminating their religious doctrines while concurrently providing education and support for community development. The responses of the Dayak community to these efforts varied significantly, encompassing partial acceptance, partial rejection, and the preservation of their existing beliefs and culture. The research findings offer insights into the complex dynamics of cultural changes occurring within the Dayak community during this period. Cultural conflicts, adaptive processes, and the struggles over religious values contribute to the cultural diversity that characterizes Borneo.

NUSANTARA IN FRONT OF MAKASSAR STRAIT: A REVIEW OF INTERNATIONAL LAW OF THE SEA

<p>Relocation of the national capital of Indonesia to the Borneo region is not only fraught with considerations of the socio-economic, political, and physical environment. The safety factor is also a very important aspect because the capital city is the center of gravity of the country. Nusantara, the new capital city, directly faces the Makassar Strait which has been designated as an archipelagic sea lane. An archipelagic sea lane must be subject to the international law of the sea, especially the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) 1982. Foreign voyages and flights have the right of normal mode and continuous passage through archipelagic sea lanes. Therefore, they cannot be blocked. The right of passage is not only granted to merchant ships but also to military ships and even submarines. The extent of the security threat to the capital due to the abovementioned legal regime is analyzed by normative legal research, using a conceptual approach to the legal norms governing the sea lane. This study aims to provide an overview of the legal norms that apply to the Makassar Strait as a consideration in developing a defense and security strategy for the national capital, the archipelago. In conclusion, Nusantara in the Makassar Strait must pay attention to the international law of the sea norms in preparing the defense and security strategy for the new national capital city.</p>

Traditional Knowledge of Marine Resources and Their Relations to the Coastal Community’s Economic Well-Being in Peninsular Malaysia

This study was conducted to analyse the practice of associated use of traditional knowledge (TK) on marine resources as new sources of wealth to enhance the economic well-being of the coastal communities. This study employed a qualitative research approach with a total of 117 respondents in Peninsular Malaysia. Convenience and purposive sampling methods were used to identify potential respondents and thematic analysis for the data analysis. The data was gathered through telephone interviews during the Movement Control Order (MCO) in Malaysia due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the study reveal that the associated use of traditional knowledge on marine resources does play an essential role in the economic well-being of coastal communities. This was assessed through the perspective of living standards and livelihood improvement. The potential of TK based on marine resources illustrates the opportunity for this practice to become a valuable economic resource and create employment opportunities among coastal communities to generate a sustainable source of income. This study can also change modern society's perception of the importance and benefits of TK based on marine resources. The implications of this study can be viewed from the theory, practice, and policy. Future studies could be expanded to the Borneo region of Malaysia to gather different perspectives, and a quantitative approach could be used to gather more extensive opinions.

Spatial and temporal variation of aquifer vulnerability in Miri coastal region of NW Borneo using resistivity survey and GIS

In this research, Vertical Electrical Soundings (VES) were conducted along the coastal region of Miri City, East Malaysia for two different seasons to determine the spatial and temporal variation of aquifer vulnerability through Geographic Information System (GIS). VES data was processed in IPI2Win software and curve matching method was adopted to determine the predominance curve types in the study area. The corrected data were used to create spatial maps for resistivity and thickness for each layer through ArcGIS software. Pseudo cross-sections were produced to identity the lithological variance and the movement of saline groundwater plumes. Dar Zarrouk parameters such as longitudinal conductance (S) and transverse resistance (T) were also calculated and spatial maps were prepared to differentiate freshwater and saline water aquifers in the study area. From the results, it was found that the dominant curve types identified in the study area are Q type (24%) and QH type (28%) during the Northeast monsoon (NEM); whereas QH type (19%) and QHKH type (18%) are identified during the Southwest monsoon (SWM). The significant resistivity values that indicate the saline water intrusion (SWI) are 0.49–47.6 ohm.m and 4.34–40.2 ohm.m, which was identified from the northern and southern parallel pseudo cross-sections. Overall, the study reveals that the intensive SWI occurred during SWM, compared to NEM. SWI was observed with low resistivity at a deeper depth of 20 m on the northern side of the study area. The southern urban area of Miri City is continuously prone to infiltration of brackish water at shallow depth caused by anthropogenic activities.

Automated Real-Time Identification of Medicinal Plants Species in Natural Environment Using Deep Learning Models-A Case Study from Borneo Region.

The identification of plant species is fundamental for the effective study and management of biodiversity. In a manual identification process, different characteristics of plants are measured as identification keys which are examined sequentially and adaptively to identify plant species. However, the manual process is laborious and time-consuming. Recently, technological development has called for more efficient methods to meet species’ identification requirements, such as developing digital-image-processing and pattern-recognition techniques. Despite several existing studies, there are still challenges in automating the identification of plant species accurately. This study proposed designing and developing an automated real-time plant species identification system of medicinal plants found across the Borneo region. The system is composed of a computer vision system that is used for training and testing a deep learning model, a knowledge base that acts as a dynamic database for storing plant images, together with auxiliary data, and a front-end mobile application as a user interface to the identification and feedback system. For the plant species identification task, an EfficientNet-B1-based deep learning model was adapted and trained/tested on a combined public and private plant species dataset. The proposed model achieved 87% and 84% Top-1 accuracies on a test set for the private and public datasets, respectively, which is more than a 10% accuracy improvement compared to the baseline model. During real-time system testing on the actual samples, using our mobile application, the accuracy slightly dropped to 78.5% (Top-1) and 82.6% (Top-5), which may be related to training data and testing conditions variability. A unique feature of the study is the provision of crowdsourcing feedback and geo-mapping of the species in the Borneo region, with the help of the mobile application. Nevertheless, the proposed system showed a promising direction toward real-time plant species identification system.

Delineation of highland saline groundwater sources in Ba'kelalan region of NE Borneo to improve the salt-making production using geochemical and geophysical approaches

The extraction of mountain salt from the saline waters is the basic livelihood of the Ba'kelalan communities of Sarawak. The current integrated approach is the first attempt to study the sources and geochemical processes of the saline groundwaters in this mountain region. Hence, in this study, saline groundwater samples from five existing wells in different seasons were analysed for hydrochemical parameters and multi-isotope composition (δ18O, δD, δ34S, δ11B and δ37Cl). The significant increase in TDS, EC and salinity was due to seasonal variation and fluctuation in water level based on hourly, daily and monthly observations. The geochemical ratios and the statistical techniques revealed that the salinity was due to the dissolution of marine evaporites as a dominant process, coupled with other factors such as water-rock interaction, ion exchange and sulphate reduction. From the isotopic signatures, it was inferred that the origin of saline groundwater was from the intense dissolution of marine evaporites such as halite dissolution and oxidation of -sulphide (pyrite). 2D electrical resistivity and seismic refraction methods were used to identify the lithological variations, depth of potential sources of saline groundwater, and the subsurface structures. It was inferred the probability of a conductive zone at a depth of 1–14 m, from which the saline groundwater plume migrates towards the perched aquifer. The presence of subsurface faults facilitated the movement of hypersaline groundwater from the saturated zone to the surface. The outcome of the study will support the dependent community to enhance their commercial salt production.