Abstract
There are several reasons why lakes are (or become) saline. Evidence lies in lagoons along open oceans where seawater may percolate through sandy barriers and lakes become saline or brackish, occasionally transforming their character. Further inland, saline lakes accumulate salt content by freshwater inflow and river discharge that carries minimal amounts of salt, and as a consequence salt concentrations increase in a basin (and a lake) through evaporation. Particularly if a basin is endorheic (without outflow), salinity can range from a few to over 300 % per mil with a tendency to increase concentration as the basin ages, allowing for the many different elements found in salt or brine. With the exception of the extraordinary ancient Dead Sea (the deepest hypersaline lake in the world exceeding 300 m in depth), concentrations of salinity in deep lakes is generally lower than in shallow lakes, as vertical circulation needs more time in deeper waters. In lakes comprising of various depths, salinity can vary from section to section clearly demonstrated in the Caspian Sea where the north is shallow and saline, the south is deep and almost fresh in character. Certain saline lakes no longer appear as lakes; a stable salt crust (over a brine) may cover its surface several metres thick such as the Salar de Uyuni in southwest Bolivia, the world’s largest salt flat at 10,600 km2. With climate changing over time to more arid conditions, a salt lake often transforms into saltpans with a salt crust intercalated with silt and clay, and becomes the uppermost strata of a sediment archive. Saline lakes are specific ecosystems and as salinity increases the number of species decreases toward negligible. In addition, several lakes became saline (or more saline) by anthropogenic influence over water input; the Aral Sea catastrophe has receded up to 90 % since humans diverted the two rivers that feed it for irrigation purposes. Saltpans in particular exhibit many additional aspects clearly discernable from satellite imagery: intensive colours (alternating with seasons), significant variations between shallow and deeper waters associated with evaporation deposits, and internal patterns left on salt crust such as networks or polygons formed by salt expansion and shrinkage. The combination of Halobacteria and Cyanophytes containing beta-carotene an organic compound, results in the red to orange colours of saline lakes and saltpans, and particularly the relationship between the genus Dunaiella salina and Halobacterium cutirubrum regulates the intensity of the colour.
Keywords
These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsReferences
Alsharhan AS, Kendall CGSC (2003) Holocene coastal evaporites of the southern Arabian Gulf and their ancient analogues. Earth Sci Rev 61:191–243
Arnow T, Stephens D (1990) Hydrologic characteristics of the Great Salt Lake, Utah: 1847–1986. USGS water-supply paper, p 2332
Baker PA, Rigsby CA, Seltzer GO et al (2001) Tropical climate changes at millennial and orbital timescales on the Bolivian Altiplano. Nature 409(6821):698–701
Eugster HP, Hardie LA (1978) Saline lakes. In: Lerman A (ed) Lakes – chemistry, geology, physics. Springer, New York, pp 237–293
Evans MS (1999) Paleolimnological studies of saline lakes. J Paleolimnol 8:97–101
Hammer UT (1986) Saline lakes ecosystems of the world, Monographiae Biologicae 59. Springer, Dordrecht
Kendall CGStG, Alsharhan AS (eds) (2011) Quaternary carbonate and evaporite sedimentary facies and their ancient analogues: a tribute to douglas James Shearman. IAS special publication 43. Wiley, Oxford
Lashab MI, Daluob HS, Saqer NH (2004) Geological and geochemical studies on recent sabkha of Karkurah, northeastern Libya. In: 7th international conference on the geology of the Arab world, Cairo University, Egypt, February 2014, pp 1–10
Last WM (2002) Geolimnology of salt lakes. Geosci J 6(4):347–369
Lokier SW, Steuber T (2007) Seasonal dynamics of a modern sabkha surface. Geophys Res Abstr 9: 01874
Lowenstein T, Hardie LA (1985) Criteria for the recognition of salt-pan evaporates. Sedimentology 32(5):627–644
Melack JM, Jellisson R, Herbse DB (2001) Publications from the 7th international conference on salt lakes, held in Death Valley National Park, California, USA, September 1999. Springer, New York
Meris SM, Compton JS (2004) Origin and evolution of major salts in the Darling pans, Western Cape, South Africa. Appl Geochem 19(5):645–664
Nield DA, Simmons CT, Kuznetsov AV et al (2008) On the evolution of salt lakes: episodic convection beneath an evaporating salt lake. Water Resour Res 44. doi:10.1029/2007WR006161
Nielsen DL, Brock MA, Rees GN et al (2003) Effects of increasing salinity on freshwater ecosystems in Australia. Aust J Bot 51(6):655–665
Oren A, Nafiz DL, Palacios P, et al (eds) (2009) Saline lakes around the world: unique systems with unique values. Nat Resour Environ Issues 15(1). University of Utah, Salt Lake City
Renaut R, Last WM (eds) (1994) Sedimentology and geochemistry of modern and ancient saline lakes. SEPM special publication 50. Tulsa, Oklahoma
Savvaitova KA, Petr T (1992) Lake Issyk-kul Kirgizia. Int J Salt Lake Res 1(2):21–46
Singh G, Joshi RD, Singh AB (1972) Stratigraphic and radiocarbon evidence for the age and development of three salt lake deposits in Rajasthan, India. Quat Res 2(4):496–505
Tyler SW, Munoz JF, Wood WW (2006) The response of playa and sabkha hydraulics and mineralogy to climate forcing. Ground Water 44:329–338
West IM, Lashhab MI, Muhan IM (2000) North African sabkhas and lagoons compared to those of the Arabian Gulf. In: Proceedings of the sixth mediterranean petroleum conference and exhibition, November 23–25th, 1999, Tripoli, Libya, pp 512–530
Williams WD (1986) Limnology, the study of inland waters: a comment on perceptions of studies of salt lakes, past and present. In: De Deckker P, Williams WD (eds) Limnology in Australia. CSIRO Australia, Melbourne, pp 471–486
Williams WD (2002) Environmental threats to salt lakes and the likely status of inland saline ecosystems in 2025. Environ Conserv 29(2):154–167
Yechieli Y, Wood WW (2002) Hydrogeologic processes in saline systems: playas, sabkhas, and saline lakes. Earth Sci Rev 58:343–365
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Scheffers, A.M., Kelletat, D.H. (2016). Saline Lakes and Saltpans. In: Lakes of the World with Google Earth. Coastal Research Library, vol 16. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29617-3_4
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-29617-3_4
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-29615-9
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-29617-3
eBook Packages: Earth and Environmental ScienceEarth and Environmental Science (R0)