Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Geochemistry of African Soda Lakes

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Soda Lakes of East Africa

Abstract

Soda lakes are those in which sodium and carbonate species dominate the dissolved ions. They form in hydrologically closed lake basins, where inflow is balanced primarily by evaporation. They are important habitats, closely tied to water resource issues in arid lands, and they support important economic activities. Soda lakes differ from other saline lakes in that their drainage basins typically are dominated by volcanic terrains that produce very alkaline dilute inflow. In East Africa, soda lakes are commonly associated with volcanism and tectonic depressions, mostly along the East African Rift. Upon evaporative concentration, salinity increases, but many solutes are also lost to solid phases through the actions of abiotic mineral precipitation and biological utilization. Thus, soda lake waters tend to be dominated by sodium, bicarbonate and/or carbonate, with potentially significant sulfate and chloride concentrations as well. Alkaline earths (calcium and magnesium) are almost always negligible in concentration in evolved soda brines. Hydrothermal input is an important contributor of silica in soda lake waters and may also play an important role in deep subsurface environments (far below the sediment-water interface) by enriching CO2, enhancing silicate hydrolysis and generating high alkalinity.

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

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Abbate E, Bruni P, Sagri M (2015) Geology of Ethiopia: a review and geomorphological perspectives. In: Billi P (ed) Landscapes and landforms of Ethiopia. Springer, Dordrecht, pp 33–64

    Google Scholar 

  • Almendinger JE (1990) Groundwater control of closed-basin lake levels under steady-state conditions. J Hydrol 112:293–318

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benvenuti M, Bonini M, Tassia F, Corti G, Sania F, Agostinia A, Manettia P, Vasellia O (2013) Holocene lacustrine fluctuations and deep CO2 degassing in the northeastern Lake Langano Basin (Main Ethiopian Rift). J Afr Earth Sci 77:1–10

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Casanova J (1994) Stromatolites from the East African Rift: a synopsis. In: Bertrand-Sarfati J, Monty C (eds) Phanerozoic stromatolites II. Springer, New York, pp 193–226

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen AS (1982) Paleoenvironments of root casts from the Koobi Fora Formation, Kenya. J Sediment Petrol 52:401–414

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen AS (2003) Paleolimnology. Oxford University Press, Oxford

    Google Scholar 

  • Darling WG, Gizaw B, Arusei MK (1996) Lake-groundwater relationships and fluid-rock interaction in the East African Rift Valley: isotopic evidence. J Afr Earth Sci 22:423–431

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson JB (2008) The Gregory Rift Valley and Neogene–Recent volcanoes of northern Tanzania. Mem Geol Soc Lond 33:1–98

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dekov VM, Egueh NM, Kamenov GD, Bayon G, Lalonde SV, Schmidt M, Liebetrau V, Munnik F, Fouquet Y, Tanimizu M, Awaleh MO, Guirreh I, Le Gall B (2014) Hydrothermal carbonate chimneys from a continental rift (Afar Rift): mineralogy, geochemistry, and mode of formation. Chem Geol 387:87–100

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deocampo DM (2002) Sedimentary processes and lithofacies in lake-margin groundwater-fed wetlands in East Africa. In: Renaut RW, Ashley GM (eds) Sedimentation in continental rifts, vol 73. SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) Special Publication, Tulsa, pp 295–308

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Deocampo DM (2004) Hydrogeochemistry in the Ngorongoro Crater, Tanzania, and implications for land use in a World Heritage Site. Appl Geochem 19:755–767

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deocampo DM (2005) Evaporative evolution of surface waters and the role of aqueous CO2 in magnesium silicate precipitation: Lake Eyasi and Ngorongoro Crater, northern Tanzania. S Afr J Geol 108:493–504

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deocampo DM (2010) The geochemistry of continental carbonates. In: Alonso-Zarza AM, Tanner LH (eds) Carbonates in continental settings, geochemistry, diagenesis, and applications, Developments in Sedimentology, vol 62. Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp 1–59

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Deocampo D, Ashley GM (1999) Siliceous islands in a carbonate sea: modern and Pleistocene records of spring-fed wetlands in Ngorongoro Crater and Oldupai Gorge, Tanzania. J Sediment Res 69(5):974–979

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Deocampo DM, Jones BF (2014) Geochemistry of saline lakes. In: Holland HD, Turekian KK (eds) Treatise on geochemistry, vol 7, 2nd edn. Elsevier, Oxford, pp 437–469

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Dix GR, Patterson RT, Park LE (1999) Marine saline ponds as sedimentary archives of Late Holocene sea level and climate variation: an example along a carbonate platform-margin, Bahamas. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 150:223–246

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Domagalski JL, Eugster HP, Jones BF (1990) Trace metal geochemistry of Walker, Mono, and Great salt lakes. In: Spencer RJ, Chou IM (eds) Fluid-mineral interactions: a tribute to H.P. Eugster. Geochemical Society Special Publication 2, San Antonio, pp 315–354

    Google Scholar 

  • Duffy CJ, Al-Hassan S (1988) Groundwater circulation in a closed desert basin: topographic scaling and climatic forcing. Water Res Res 24:1675–1688

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dyni JR, Wiig SV, Grundy WD (1995) Trona resources in southwest Wyoming. Nonrenew Res 4:340–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Earman S, Phillips FM, McPherson BJOL (2005) The role of “excess” CO2 in the formation of trona deposits. Appl Geochem 20:2217–2232

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eugster HP, Hardie LA (1975) Sedimentation in an ancient playa-lake complex: the Wilkins Peak member of the Green River formation of Wyoming. Geol Soc Am Bull 86:319–334

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Eugster HP, Hardie LA (1978) Saline lakes. In: Lerman A (ed) Lakes: chemistry, geology, physics. Springer, New York, pp 237–293

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

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

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Frost RL, Dickfos M (2007) Hydrated double carbonates—a Raman and infrared spectroscopic study. Polyhedron 26:4503–4508

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Garrels RM, Christ CL (1965) Solutions, minerals, and equilibria. Freeman, Cooper & Company, San Francisco

    Google Scholar 

  • Gizaw B (1996) The origin of high bicarbonate and fluoride concentrations in waters of the Main Ethiopian Rift Valley, East African Rift system. J Afr Earth Sci 22:391–402

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Griffiths PS, Gibson IL (1980) The geology and petrology of the Hannington Trachyphonolite formation, Kenya Rift Valley. Lithos 13:43–53

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hargrave JE, Hicks M, Scholz CA (2014) Lacustrine carbonates from Lake Turkana, Kenya: a depositional model of carbonates in an extensional basin. J Sediment Res 84:224–237

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harris J, Van Couvering J (1995) Mock aridity and the paleoecology of volcanically influenced ecosystems. Geology 23:593–596

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hay RL, Reeder RJ (1978) Calcretes of Olduvai Gorge and the Ndolanya Beds of northern Tanzania. Sedimentology 25:649–673

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Horsfield B, Curry DJ, Bohacs K, Littke R, Rullkötter J, Schenk HJ, Radke M, Schaefer RG, Carroll AR, Isaksen G, Witte EG (1994) Organic geochemistry of freshwater and alkaline lacustrine sediments in the Green River formation of the Washakie Basin, Wyoming, USA. Org Geochem 22:415–440

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Hutchinson GE (1957) A treatise on limnology, vol 1. Wiley, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Johnson TC, Halfman JD, Showers WJ (1991) Paleoclimate of the past 4000 years at Lake Turkana, Kenya, based on the isotopic composition of authigenic calcite. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 85:189–198

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson TC, Odada E (eds) (1996) Limnology, climatology and paleoclimatology of the East African Lakes. Gordon and Breach, Toronto

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones BF (1986) Clay mineral diagenesis in lacustrine sediments. In: Mumpton FA (ed) Studies in diagenesis, vol 1578. U.S. Geological Survey Bulletin, Denver, pp 291–300

    Google Scholar 

  • Jones BF, Eugster HP, Rettig SL (1977) Hydrochemistry of the Lake Magadi basin, Kenya. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 41:53–72

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kanuga KK (1982) Chemical composition of rains over Kenya. J Weather Modif 14:38–42

    Google Scholar 

  • Kaufman A, Margaritz M, Paul M, Hillaire-Marcel C, Hollos G, Boaretto E, Taieb M (1990) The 36Cl ages of the brines in the Magadi-Natron basin, East Africa. Geochim Cosmochim Acta 54:2827–2833

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kilham P, Cloke PL (1980) The evolution of saline lake waters: gradual and rapid biogeochemical pathways in the Basotu Lake District, Tanzania. Hydrobiologia 197:35–50

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Last WM (1992) Chemical composition of saline and subsaline lakes of the northern Great Plains, western Canada. Int J Salt Lake Res 1:47–76

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Last WM, Ginn FM (2005) Saline systems of the Great Plains of western Canada: an overview of the limnogeology and paleolimnology. Saline Systems 1:10. doi:10.1186/1746-1448-1-10

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Lee RKL, Owen RB, Renaut RW, Behrensmeyer AK, Potts R, Sharp WD (2013) Facies, geochemistry and diatoms of late Pleistocene Olorgesailie tufas, southern Kenya Rift. Palaeogeogr Palaeoclimatol Palaeoecol 374:197–217

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Levin NE, Zipser EJ, Cerling TE (2009) Isotopic composition of waters from Ethiopia and Kenya: insights into moisture sources for eastern Africa. J Geophys Res 114, D23306. doi:10.1029/2009JD012166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacDonald R (2003) Magmatism of the Kenya Rift Valley: a review. Trans R Soc Edinb Earth Sci 93:239–253

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mees F, Reyes E, Keppens E (1998) Stable isotope chemistry of gaylussite and nahcolite from the deposits of the crater lake at Malha, northern Sudan. Chem Geol 146:87–98

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Mollel GF, Swisher CC III (2008) The Ngorongoro Volcanic Highland and its relationships to deposits at Olduvai Gorge and East African Rift volcanism. J Hum Evol 63:274–283

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicholson K (1993) Geothermal fluids: chemistry and exploration techniques. Springer, Berlin

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Nielson JM (1999) East African Magadi (trona): fluoride concentration and mineralogical composition. J Afr Earth Sci 29:423–428

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Owen RA, Owen RB, Renaut RW, Scott JJ, Jones B, Ashley GM (2008) Mineralogy and origin of rhizoliths on the margins of saline, alkaline Lake Bogoria, Kenya Rift Valley. Sediment Geol 203:143–163

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Pecoraino G, D’Alessandro W, Inguaggiato S (2015) The other side of the coin: geochemistry of alkaline lakes in volcanic areas. In: Rouwet D et al (eds) Volcanic lakes, Advances in volcanology. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 219–237

    Google Scholar 

  • Renaut RW (1982) Late Quaternary geology of the Lake Bogoria Fault–Trough, Kenya Rift Valley. Dissertation, University of London

    Google Scholar 

  • Renaut RW, Gierlowski-Kordesch EG (2010) Lakes. In: James NP, Dalrymple R (eds) Facies models 4. Geological Association of Canada, St. Johns, pp 541–575

    Google Scholar 

  • Renaut RW, Jones B (2011) Hydrothermal environments, terrestrial. In: Reitner J, Thiel V (eds) Encyclopedia of geobiology, Encyclopedia of earth sciences series. Springer, Berlin, pp 467–479

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Renaut RW, Long PR (1989) Sedimentology of the saline lakes of the Cariboo Plateau, interior British Columbia. Sediment Geol 64:239–264

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Renaut RW, Tiercelin JJ (1994) Lake Bogoria, Kenya Rift Valley—a sedimentological overview. In: Renaut RW, Last WM (eds) Sedimentology and geochemistry of modern and ancient saline lakes. SEPM Special Publication 50, pp 101–124

    Google Scholar 

  • Renaut RW, Owen RB, Jones B, Tiercelin JJ, Tarits C, Ego JK, Konhauser KK (2013) Impact of lake level changes on the formation of thermogene travertine in continental rifts: evidence from Lake Bogoria, Kenya Rift Valley. Sedimentology 60:428–468

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Retallack GJ (2001) Soils of the past. An introduction to paleopedology. Unwin Hyman, Boston

    Google Scholar 

  • Risacher F, Alonso H, Salazar C (2003) The origin of brines and salts in Chilean salars: a hydrochemical review. Earth Sci Rev 63:249–293. doi:10.1016/S0012-8252(03)00037-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Rosen MR (1994) The importance of groundwater in playas: a review of playa classifications and the sedimentology and hydrology of playas. In: Rosen MR (ed) Paleoclimate and basin evolution of playa systems. Geological Society of America Special Paper 289, pp 1–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Visser SA (1961) Chemical composition of rainwater in Kampala, Uganda and its relation to meteorology and topographical conditions. J Geophys Res 66:3759–3965

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Yechieli Y, Sivan O (2011) The distribution of saline groundwater and its relation to the hydraulic conditions of aquifers and aquitards: examples from Israel. Hydrogeol J 19:71–81

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Zaitsev AN, Keller J (2006) Mineralogical and chemical transformation of Oldoinyo Lengai natrocarbonatites, Tanzania. Lithos 91:191–207

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geosciences, Georgia State University, 33 Gilmer Street SE, Atlanta, GA, USA

    Daniel M. Deocampo

  2. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, 114 Science Place, Saskatoon, SK, S7N 5E2, Canada

    Robin W. Renaut

Authors
  1. Daniel M. Deocampo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Robin W. Renaut
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Daniel M. Deocampo .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Limnology and Bio-Oceanography, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Michael Schagerl

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2016 Springer International Publishing Switzerland

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Deocampo, D.M., Renaut, R.W. (2016). Geochemistry of African Soda Lakes. In: Schagerl, M. (eds) Soda Lakes of East Africa. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28622-8_4

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation