Locality 6

SALINE PANS/SALINAS

The most landward part of the sabkha, some dehydration of anhydrite to gypsum may occur from contact with fresh continental groundwaters.

photo of a salt encrusted margin of a salt lake

source http://www.soton.ac.uk/~imw/sabkha.htm

Photograph of a salt encrusted margin of a salt lake

Salinas occur in sabkhas as a result of occasional inundation of sea water on to the sabkha surface or seepage through a sandy barrier. This leaves shallow ephemeral puddles or ponds of saline water on the sabkha surface, some of this standing water evaporates and some of it leakes into the sediments (McLane, 1995).

 

Diagram of mineral precipitation in a saline mud flat Adapted from, Tucker, (1991).

 

Water quickly evaporates away to precipitate halite, and is then desiccated and subjected to subaerial processes.

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This page was created by Pamela Williams

Last Modified:18/06/02