Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Characterizing Major Controls on Spatial and Seasonal Variations in Chemical Composition of Surface and Pore Brine of Maharlu Lake, Southern Iran

  • Original Article
  • Published:
Aquatic Geochemistry Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Maharlu Lake with Na–Cl water type is the terminal point of a closed basin in southern Iran. A total of 10 water samples from two rivers discharging to the lake and 78 water samples of surface and pore brine of Maharlu Lake have been collected from different depths (surface, 20, 50 and 100 cm) of four sampling stations along the lake during a period of lake water-level fluctuation (November 2014–July 2015). To investigate chemical interaction between lake surface water and shallow pore water and to understand the major factors governing chemical composition of Maharlu brine, concentrations of major and minor (boron, bromide and lithium) solutes, pH and total dissolved solids have been measured in collected water samples. Saturation indices of evaporite minerals in collected water samples have been also calculated. The chemical behavior of dissolved solutes and evaporative evolution of the lake brine during a hydrological period have been simulated using PHREEQC. The results of our investigations indicated that chemical composition of lake surface water and pore brine of Maharlu Lake are mainly connected with lake water-level fluctuations and distance from input rivers (and depth), respectively. Hydrochemical investigations and statistical analysis showed that the brines chemistry of Maharlu is mainly controlled by three processes: brine evaporative evolution, dissolution–precipitation and diagenetic evolution of secondary carbonates.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10
Fig. 11

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abdel Wahed MSM, Mohamed EA, El-Sayed MI, M’nif A, Sillanpää M (2015) Hydrogeochemical processes controlling the water chemistry of a closed saline lake located in Sahara Desert: Lake Qarun, Egypt. Aquat Geochem 21:31–57

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson RB, Naftz DL, Day-Lewis FD, Henderson RD, Rosenberry DO, Stolp BJ, Jewell P (2014) Quantity and quality of groundwater discharge in a hypersaline lake environment. J Hydrol 512:177–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • APHA (1998) Standard methods for the examination of water and wastewater, 20th edn. American Public Health Association, Washington

    Google Scholar 

  • Appelo CAJ, Postma D (2005) Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution. Balkema, Leiden, The Netherlands, p 647

  • Deocampo DM, Jones BF (2014) Geochemistry of Saline Lakes. In: Drever JI (ed) Treatise on Geochemistry, vol 7, 2nd edn. pp 437–469. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-095975-7.00515-5

  • Eugster HP, Hardie LA (1978) Saline lakes. In: Lerman A (ed) Lakes: chemistry, geology, physics. Springer, New York, pp 237–293. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1152-3_8

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Eugster HP, Jones BF (1979) Behavior of major solutes during closed-basin brine evolution. Am J Sci 279:609–631

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fars Water Resources Organisation (1995) Geophysical Investigation of Alaodolleh Dam Report, p 61 (in Farsi)

  • Hardie LA, Eugster HP (1970) The evolution of closed-basin brines. Mineral. Soc. Am. Spec. Pap. 3:273–290

    Google Scholar 

  • Herczeg AL, Lyons WB (1991) A chemical model for the evolution of Australian sodium chloride lake brines. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 84:43–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(91)90034-O

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jahanshahi R, Zare M (2016) Hydrochemical investigations for delineating salt-water intrusion into the coastal aquifer of Maharlou Lake, Iran. J African Earth Sci 121:16–29

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson M (1980) The origin of Australia’s salt lakes. New South Wales Geol Surv 19:221–266

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones BF, VanDenburgh AS, Truesdell AH, Rettig SL (1969) Interstitial brines in playa sediments. Chem Geol 4:253–262

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaiser HF (1958) The varimax criterion for analytic rotation in factor analysis. Psychometrika 23:187–200

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kazemi M, Feisnia S, Khosravi H, Mesbah H (2016) Investigation of quantitative changes and direction of groundwater flow in Maharloo area. In: 2nd Int. Conf. Sustain. Dev. Solut. Challenges Focus. Agric. Nat. Resour. Environ. Tour

  • Khosravi R (2018) Distribution of arsenic in surface/subsurface water interface of hypersaline lakes, Case study: Maharlu Lake, Fars Province-Iran. Ph.D. Dissertation, Shiraz University

  • Kolpakova MN, Gaskova OL (2017) Major ions behaviour during evaporation of different saline type water of Western Mongolian lakes (geochemical modelling). Hydrol Res 49:163–176. https://doi.org/10.2166/nh.2017.148

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kouchekzadeh A, Zarei M (2017) Introducing hydrochemical diagnostic tools to differentiate sources of salinity, Southern Iran. Int J Water 11:226–250

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krinsley DB (1974) The utilization of ERTS-1 generated images in the evaluation of some Iranian Playas as sites for economic and engineering development, part 1

  • Lerman A (2009) Saline Lakes’ response to global change. Aquat Geochem 15:1–5

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lerman A, Jones BF (1973) Transient and steady-state salt transport between sediments and brine in closed lakes. Limnol Oceanogr 18:72–85. https://doi.org/10.4319/lo.1973.18.1.0072

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehdizadeh R, Zarei M, Raeisi E (2015) How subaerial salt extrusions influence water quality in adjacent aquifers. J Hydrol 531:1108–1113

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller G, Irion G, Förstner U (1972) Formation and diagenesis of inorganic Ca–Mg carbonates in the lacustrine environment. Naturwissenschaften 59:158–164. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00637354

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Najmodini H (2011) Investigation of temporal and spatial variations of heavy metals in Maharlu Lake and one of adjacent aquifers. Msc Dessertation, Shiraz University

  • Nekouei E, Zarei M (2017) Karst hydrogeology of Karmustadj salt diapir, southern Iran. Carbonates Evaporites 32(3):315–323

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nekouei E, Zarei M, Raeisi E (2016) The influence of diapir brine on groundwater quality of surrounding aquifers, Larestan, Iran. Environ Earth Sci 75(7):571. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-015-5237-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parkhurst DL, Appelo CAJ (2013) Description of Input and Examples for PHREEQC version 3—a computer program for speciation, batch-reaction, one-dimensional transport, and inverse geochemical calculations. U.S. geological survey techniques and methods, book 6, chapter A43, 497 p. U.S. Geol. Surv. Tech. Methods, B. 6, chapter A43 6, 6–43A. https://doi.org/10.1016/0029-6554(94)90020-5

  • Peryt TM, Kasprzyk A (1992) Carbonate–evaporite sedimentary transitions in the Badenian (middle Miocene) basin of southern Poland. Sediment Geol 76:257–271

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pitzer KS (1987) A thermodynamic model for aqueous solutions of liquid-like density. Rev Mineralogy and Geochem 17(1):97–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosen MR (1994) The importance of groundwater in playas: a review of playa classifications and the sedimentology and hydrology of playas. Geol Soc Am Spec Pap 289:1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Salifu A, Petrusevski B, Ghebremichael K, Buamah R, Amy G (2012) Multivariate statistical analysis for fluoride occurrence in groundwater in the Northern region of Ghana. J Contam Hydrol 140:34–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shahrabi M (1994) Geology of Iran: seas and lakes. Geological Survey of Iran, Tehran

    Google Scholar 

  • Sharaf MA, Illman DL, Kowalski BR (1986) Chemometrics. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Shariati Bidar M (2001) Investigation and Exploration of Economic Elements of the Maharlu, Bakhtegan, Tashk Lakes, part 1, Geological Survey of Iran, p 223 (in Farsi)

  • Smoot JP, Lowenstein TK (1991) Depositional environments of non-marine evaporites. Dev Sedimentol 50:189–347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Spencer RJ, Eugster HP, Jones BF, Rettig SL (1985) Geochemistry of Great salt Lake, Utah I: hydrochemistry since 1850. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 49:727–737

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tajabadi M, Zare M, Alijani F (2017) Unstable convection flow as a controlling process of increasing salinity in the saline lake coastal aquifers: case of Maharlu Lake coastal aquifer. Environ Earth Sci 76:267

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Torgersen T, De Deckker P, Chivas AR, Bowler JM (1986) Salt Lakes: a discussion of processes influencing palaeoenvironmental interpretation and recommendations for future study. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 54:7–19. https://doi.org/10.1016/0031-0182(86)90115-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vega M, Pardo R, Barrado E, Debán L (1998) Assessment of seasonal and polluting effects on the quality of river water by exploratory data analysis. Water Res 32:3581–3592. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0043-1354(98)00138-9

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Warren J (2000) Dolomite: occurrence, evolution and economically important associations. Earth Sci Rev 52:1–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0012-8252(00)00022-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Yechieli Y, Wood WW (2002) Hydrogeologic processes in saline systems: playas, sabkhas, and saline lakes. Earth Sci Rev 58:343–365

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zabala ME, Manzano M, Vives L (2016) Assessment of processes controlling the regional distribution of fluoride and arsenic in groundwater of the Pampeano Aquifer in the Del Azul Creek basin (Argentina). J Hydrol 541:1067–1087. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2016.08.023

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zak I, Gat JR (1975) Saline waters and residual brines in the Shiraz-Sarvistan basin, Iran. Chem Geol 16:179–188

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zarei M (2010) Hydrogeology of salt diapirs in the south of Iran. Ph.D. Dissertation, Shiraz University

  • Zarei M (2016) Factors governing the impact of emerged salt diapirs on water resources. Groundwater 54:354–362

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zarei M, Sedehi F, Raeisi E (2014) Hydrogeochemical characterization of major factors affecting the quality of groundwater in southern Iran, Janah Plain. Chemie der Erde-Geochemistry 74:671–680

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This research was financially supported (partly) by Iran National Science Foundation.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Shiraz University, Shiraz, Iran

    Roghyeh Khosravi & Mehdi Zarei

  2. Institute of Geography, University of Bern, Hallerstrasse 12, 3012, Bern, Switzerland

    Moritz Bigalke

Authors
  1. Roghyeh Khosravi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Mehdi Zarei
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Moritz Bigalke
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Mehdi Zarei.

Appendix

Appendix

See Tables 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8.

Table 4 Equilibrium phases considered in the simulation of evaporation processes
Full size table
Table 5 Average of physicochemical parameters of input Babahaji and Khoshk Rivers (November 2014–July 2015)
Full size table
Table 6 Na/Cl, Mg/Ca, Li/Cl, Br/Cl and B/Cl molar ratios and mineral saturation indices in SW samples of Maharlu Lake (see sampling stations in Fig. 1)
Full size table
Table 7 Na/Cl, Mg/Ca, Li/Cl, Br/Cl and B/Cl molar ratios and mineral saturation indices in PW samples of Maharlu Lake (see sampling stations in Fig. 1)
Full size table
Table 8 Ratios of average major and minor solutes concentrations in SW and PW at station 1 to average values in input rivers
Full size table

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Khosravi, R., Zarei, M. & Bigalke, M. Characterizing Major Controls on Spatial and Seasonal Variations in Chemical Composition of Surface and Pore Brine of Maharlu Lake, Southern Iran. Aquat Geochem 24, 27–54 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-018-9329-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10498-018-9329-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation