Lake Eyre and Other Temperate Lakes

Abstract

Unlike hypersaline environments of marine origin, terminal continental lakes (which have no outlet to the ocean) may have distinct chemical compositions dependent on the weathering of local rocks, salt transport, and evaporation. Australian Lake Eyre, the lakes of Saskatchewan, and other smaller, temperate lakes have not received the scientific attention that the Great Salt Lake, the Dead Sea, or the alkaline lakes of Africa and North America (discussed in Chapters 18–20) have. However, the few microbiological studies on the lesser-known lakes described here indicate that microbial activity can be found in extreme salinities and in brines of unusual composition in temperate climates.