Salt lake

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One of two salt lakes in the northern end of the Danakil Depression known as Lake Karum Ethiopia - Lake Assale.jpg
One of two salt lakes in the northern end of the Danakil Depression known as Lake Karum

A salt lake or saline lake is a landlocked body of water that has a concentration of salts (typically sodium chloride) and other dissolved minerals significantly higher than most lakes (often defined as at least three grams of salt per liter). [1] In some cases, salt lakes have a higher concentration of salt than sea water; such lakes can also be termed hypersaline lake, and may also be pink lakes on account of their color. An alkalic salt lake that has a high content of carbonate is sometimes termed a soda lake. [2]

Contents

Salt lakes are classified according to salinity levels. The formation of these lakes is influenced by processes such as evaporation and deposition. Salt lakes face serious conservation challenges due to climate change, pollution and water diversion.

Classification

The primary method of classification for salt lakes involves assessing the chemical composition of the water within the lakes, specifically its salinity, pH, and the dominant ions present. [2]

Subsaline

Subsaline lakes have a salinity lower than that of seawater but higher than freshwater, typically ranging from 0.5 to 3 grams per liter (g/L). [2]

Hyposaline

Hyposaline lakes exhibit salinities from 0.5 to 3 g/L, which allows for the presence of freshwater species along with some salt-tolerant aquatic organisms. [2] Lake Alchichica in Mexico is a hyposaline lake. [3]

Mesosaline

Mesosaline lakes have a salinity level ranging from 3 to 35 g/L. [4] An example of a mesosaline lake is Redberry Lake in Saskatchewan, Canada. [4]

Hypersaline

Hypersaline lakes possess salinities greater than 35 g/L, often reaching levels that can exceed 200 g/L. [5] The extreme salinity levels create harsh conditions that limit the diversity of life, primarily supporting specialized organisms such as halophilic bacteria and certain species of brine shrimp. [5] These lakes can have high concentrations of sodium salts and minerals, such as lithium, making such lakes vulnerable to mining interests. [5] Hypersaline lakes can be found in the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Antarctica, where salinity can reach ≈440‰. [6]

Lake Hillier shoreline with microorganisms including Dunaliella salina, red algae which cause the salt content in the lake to create a red dye Lake Hillier Shoreline Pink Hue Salt Deposite.jpg
Lake Hillier shoreline with microorganisms including Dunaliella salina, red algae which cause the salt content in the lake to create a red dye

Formation

Salt lakes form through complex chemical, geological, and biological processes, influenced by environmental conditions like high evaporation rates and restricted water outflow. As water carrying dissolved minerals (sodium, potassium, and magnesium) enters these basins, it gradually evaporates, concentrating these minerals until they precipitate as salt deposits. [7] Then, specific ions interact under controlled temperatures, which leads to solid-solution formation and salt crystal deposition within the lake bed. [7] This cycle of evaporation and deposition is the main process to the unique saline environment that characterizes a salt lake. [7]

Soltan lake in Iran with salt mounds Soltan salt lake iran.jpg
Soltan lake in Iran with salt mounds

Environmental factors further shape the composition and formation of salt lakes. Seasonal variations in temperature and evaporation drive mineral saturation and promote salt crystallization. [8] In dry regions, water loss during warmer seasons concentrates the lake's salts. [8] This creates a dynamic environment where seasonal shifts affect the salt lake's mineral layers, contributing to its evolving structure and composition. [8] Groundwater rich in dissolved ions often serve as primary mineral sources that, combined with processes like evaporation and deposition, contribute to salt lake development. [9]

Biodiversity

Salt Lake in Larnaca, Cyprus Larnaca 01-2017 img32 Salt Lake.jpg
Salt Lake in Larnaca, Cyprus

Salt lakes host a diverse range of animals, despite high levels of salinity acting as significant environmental constraints. [10] Increased salinity worsens oxygen levels and thermal conditions, raising the water's density and viscosity, which demands greater energy for animal movement. [10] Despite these challenges, salt lakes support biota adapted to such conditions with specialized physiological and biochemical mechanisms. [11] Common salt lake invertebrates include various parasites, with around 85 parasite species found in saline waters, including crustaceans and monogeneans. [10] Among them, the filter-feeding brine shrimp plays a crucial role as a keystone species by regulating phytoplankton and bacterioplankton levels. [12] The Artemia species also serves as an intermediate host for helminth parasites that affect migratory water birds like flamingos, grebes, gulls, shorebirds, and ducks. [12] Vertebrates in saline lakes include certain fish and bird species, though they are sensitive to fluctuations in salinity. [11] Many saline lakes are also alkaline, which imposes physiological challenges for fish, especially in managing nitrogenous waste excretion. [13] Fish species vary by lake; for instance, the Salton Sea is home to species such as carp, striped mullet, humpback sucker, and rainbow trout. [13]

Stratification

Lake stratification in different seasons Dimictic lake.png
Lake stratification in different seasons

Stratification in salt lakes occurs as a result of the unique chemical and environmental processes that cause water to separate into layers based on density. [14] In these lakes, high rates of evaporation often concentrate salts, leading to denser, saltier water sinking to the lake's bottom, while fresher water remains nearer the surface. [14] These seasonal changes influence the lake's structure, making stratification more pronounced during warmer months due to increasing evaporation, which drives separation between saline and fresher layers in the lake​, leading a phenomenon known as meromixis (meromictic state), primarily prevents oxygen from penetrating the deeper layers and create the hypoxic (low oxygen) or anoxic (no oxygen) zones. [15] This separation eventually influenced the lake's chemistry, supporting only specialized microbial life adapted to extreme environments with high salinity and low oxygen levels. [16] The restricted vertical mixing limits nutrient cycling, creating a favorable ecosystem for halophiles (salt-loving organisms) that rely on these saline conditions for stability and balance​. [16]

The extreme conditions within stratified salt lakes have a profound effect on aquatic life, as oxygen levels are severely limited due to the lack of vertical mixing. [16] Extremophiles, including specific bacteria and archaea, inhabit the hypersaline and oxygen-deficient zones at lower depths. [17] Bacteria and archaea, for example, rely on alternative metabolic processes that do not depend on oxygen. [17] These microorganisms play a critical role in nutrient cycling within salt lakes, as they break down organic material and release by-products that support other microbial communities. [17] Due to limited biodiversity, the restrictive environment limits biodiversity, allowing only specially adapted life forms to survive, which creates unique, highly specialized ecosystems that are distinct from freshwater or less saline habitats. [17]

Conservation

Salt lakes declined worldwide in recent years. The Aral Sea, once of the largest saline lakes with a surface area of 67,499 km in 1960, diminished to approximately 6,990 km in 2016. [18] This trend is not limited to the Aral Sea; salt lakes around the world are shrinking due to excessive water diversion, dam construction, pollution, urbanization, and rising temperatures associated with climate change. [18] The resulting declines cause severe disruptions to local ecosystems and biodiversity, degrades the environment, threatens economic stability, and displaces communities dependent on these lakes for resources and livelihood. [18]

In Utah, if the Great Salt Lake is not conserved, the state could face potential economic and public health crises, with consequences for air quality, local agriculture, and wildlife. [19] According to “Utah’s Great Salt Lake Strike Team”, in order increase the lake's level within the next 30 years, see average inflows must increase by 472,00 acre-feet per year, which is about a 33% increase in the amount that has reached the lake in recent years. [20]

Water conservation is viewed as being the most cost-effective and practical strategy to save salt lakes like the Great Salt Lake. [20] Implementing strong water management policies, improving community awareness, and ensuring the return of water flow to these lakes are additional ways that may restore ecological balance. [20] Other proposed methods of maintaining lake levels include cloud seeding and the mitigation of dust transmission hotspots. [21]

List

Note: Some of the following are also partly fresh and/or brackish water.

See also

Related Research Articles

A halophile is an extremophile that thrives in high salt concentrations. In chemical terms, halophile refers to a Lewis acidic species that has some ability to extract halides from other chemical species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Great Salt Lake</span> Salt lake in Utah, United States

The Great Salt Lake is the largest saltwater lake in the Western Hemisphere and the eighth-largest terminal lake in the world. It lies in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah and has a substantial impact upon the local climate, particularly through lake-effect snow. It is a remnant of Lake Bonneville, a prehistoric body of water that covered much of western Utah.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brine</span> Concentrated solution of salt in water

Brine is water with a high-concentration solution of salt. In diverse contexts, brine may refer to the salt solutions ranging from about 3.5% up to about 26%. Brine forms naturally due to evaporation of ground saline water but it is also generated in the mining of sodium chloride. Brine is used for food processing and cooking, for de-icing of roads and other structures, and in a number of technological processes. It is also a by-product of many industrial processes, such as desalination, so it requires wastewater treatment for proper disposal or further utilization.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Evaporite</span> Water-soluble mineral deposit formed by evaporation from an aqueous solution

An evaporite is a water-soluble sedimentary mineral deposit that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution. There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine, which are found in standing bodies of water such as lakes. Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks and are formed by chemical sediments.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Seawater</span> Water from a sea or an ocean

Seawater, or sea water, is water from a sea or ocean. On average, seawater in the world's oceans has a salinity of about 3.5%. This means that every kilogram of seawater has approximately 35 grams (1.2 oz) of dissolved salts. The average density at the surface is 1.025 kg/L. Seawater is denser than both fresh water and pure water because the dissolved salts increase the mass by a larger proportion than the volume. The freezing point of seawater decreases as salt concentration increases. At typical salinity, it freezes at about −2 °C (28 °F). The coldest seawater still in the liquid state ever recorded was found in 2010, in a stream under an Antarctic glacier: the measured temperature was −2.6 °C (27.3 °F).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Endorheic basin</span> Closed drainage basin that has no outflow

An endorheic basin is a drainage basin that normally retains water and allows no outflow to other external bodies of water ; instead, the water drainage flows into permanent and seasonal lakes and swamps that equilibrate through evaporation. Endorheic basins are also called closed basins, terminal basins, and internal drainage systems.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Magadi</span> Lake Kajiado County, Kenya

Lake Magadi is the southernmost lake in the Kenyan Rift Valley, lying in a catchment of faulted volcanic rocks, north of Tanzania's Lake Natron. During the dry season, it is 80% covered by soda and is well known for its wading birds, including flamingos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Salt evaporation pond</span> Shallow artificial pond designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines,

A salt evaporation pond is a shallow artificial salt pan designed to extract salts from sea water or other brines. The salt pans are shallow and expansive, allowing sunlight to penetrate and reach the seawater. Natural salt pans are formed through geologic processes, where evaporating water leaves behind salt deposits. Some salt evaporation ponds are only slightly modified from their natural version, such as the ponds on Great Inagua in the Bahamas, or the ponds in Jasiira, a few kilometres south of Mogadishu, where seawater is trapped and left to evaporate in the sun.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lake Assal (Djibouti)</span> Salt lake below sea level

Lake Assal is a crater lake in central-western Djibouti. It is located at the western end of Gulf of Tadjoura between Arta Region, and Tadjoura Region, touching Dikhil Region, at the top of the Great Rift Valley, some 120 km (75 mi) west of Djibouti city. Lake Assal is a saline lake that lies 155 m (509 ft) below sea level in the Afar Triangle, making it the lowest point on land in Africa and the third-lowest point on Earth after the Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea. No outflow occurs from the lake, and due to high evaporation, the salinity level of its waters is 10 times that of the sea, making it the fifth most saline body of water in the world, behind Garabogazköl, Lake Retba, and Gaet'ale Pond. The salt in the lake is exploited under four concessions awarded in 2002 at the southeast end of the lake; the major share of production is held by Société d’Exploitation du Lac and Société d’Exploitation du Salt Investment S.A de Djibouti.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sabkha</span> Salt lake above the tide line, where evaporite deposits accumulate

A sabkha is a coastal, supratidal mudflat or sandflat in which evaporite-saline minerals accumulate as the result of semiarid to arid climate. Sabkhas are gradational between land and intertidal zone within restricted coastal plains just above normal high-tide level. Within a sabkha, evaporite-saline minerals sediments typically accumulate below the surface of mudflats or sandflats. Evaporite-saline minerals, tidal-flood, and aeolian deposits characterize many sabkhas found along modern coastlines. The accepted type locality for a sabkha is at the southern coast of the Persian Gulf, in the United Arab Emirates. Evidence of clastic sabkhas are found in the geological record of many areas, including the UK and Ireland. Sabkha is a phonetic transliteration of the Arabic word used to describe any form of salt flat. A sabkha is also known as a sabkhah,sebkha, or coastal sabkha.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Don Juan Pond</span> Shallow salt lake in Antarctica

Don Juan Pond is a small and very shallow hypersaline lake in the western end of Wright Valley, Victoria Land, Antarctica, 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) west from Lake Vanda. It is wedged between the Asgard Range to the south and the Dais Range to the north. On the west end is a small tributary and a rock glacier. With a salinity level of 33.8%, Don Juan Pond is the saltiest of the Antarctic lakes. This salinity causes significant freezing-point depression, allowing the pond to remain liquid even at temperatures as low as −50 °C (−58 °F).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brine pool</span> Accumulation of brine in a seafloor depression

A brine pool, sometimes called an underwater lake, deepwater or brine lake, is a volume of brine collected in a seafloor depression. These pools are dense bodies of water that have a salinity that is typically three to eight times greater than the surrounding ocean. Brine pools are commonly found below polar sea ice and in the deep ocean. This below-sea ice forms through a process called brine rejection. For deep-sea brine pools, salt is necessary to increase the salinity gradient. The salt can come from one of two processes: the dissolution of large salt deposits through salt tectonics or geothermally-heated brine issued from tectonic spreading centers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bittern (salt)</span> Solution from evaporation of seawater or brine

Bittern, or nigari, is the salt solution formed when halite precipitates from seawater or brines. Bitterns contain magnesium, calcium, and potassium ions as well as chloride, sulfate, iodide, and other ions.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hypersaline lake</span> Landlocked body of water that contains concentrations of salts greater than the sea

A hypersaline lake is a landlocked body of water that contains significant concentrations of sodium chloride, brines, and other salts, with saline levels surpassing those of ocean water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blood Falls</span> Red-colored seep of saltwater flowing from Taylor Glacier in Antarctica

Blood Falls is an outflow of an iron(III) oxide–tainted plume of saltwater, flowing from the tongue of Taylor Glacier onto the ice-covered surface of West Lake Bonney in the Taylor Valley of the McMurdo Dry Valleys in Victoria Land, East Antarctica.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soda lake</span> Lake that is strongly alkaline

A soda lake or alkaline lake is a lake on the strongly alkaline side of neutrality, typically with a pH value between 9 and 12. They are characterized by high concentrations of carbonate salts, typically sodium carbonate, giving rise to their alkalinity. In addition, many soda lakes also contain high concentrations of sodium chloride and other dissolved salts, making them saline or hypersaline lakes as well. High pH and salinity often coincide, because of how soda lakes develop. The resulting hypersaline and highly alkalic soda lakes are considered some of the most extreme aquatic environments on Earth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tropical salt pond ecosystem</span> Buffer zone between terrestrial and marine ecosystems

Salt ponds are a natural feature of both temperate and tropical coastlines. These ponds form a vital buffer zone between terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Contaminants such as sediment, nitrates and phosphates are filtered out by salt ponds before they can reach the ocean. The depth, salinity and overall chemistry of these dynamic salt ponds fluctuate depending on temperature, rainfall, and anthropogenic influences such as nutrient runoff. The flora and fauna of tropical salt ponds differ markedly from those of temperate ponds. Mangrove trees are the dominant vegetation of tropical salt pond ecosystems, which also serve as vital feeding and breeding grounds for shore birds.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pikrolimni (lake)</span> Endorheic, alkaline salt lake in Kilkis prefecture, Greece

Lake Pikrolimni is an endorheic, alkaline salt lake in Kilkis prefecture, Greece. It is located on the border of the Kilkis and Thessaloniki regional units, about 40 km northwest of Thessaloniki. The lake is hypersaline, has rather shallow waters (0.5–0.7 m) and a shoreline of about 8.5 km. The water surface area shows significant seasonal variation (3.2–4.5 km2) due to evaporation in the summer months, with an average value of 3.7 km2.

An anchialine system is a landlocked body of water with a subterranean connection to the ocean. Depending on its formation, these systems can exist in one of two primary forms: pools or caves. The primary differentiating characteristics between pools and caves is the availability of light; cave systems are generally aphotic while pools are euphotic. The difference in light availability has a large influence on the biology of a given system. Anchialine systems are a feature of coastal aquifers which are density stratified, with water near the surface being fresh or brackish, and saline water intruding from the coast at depth. Depending on the site, it is sometimes possible to access the deeper saline water directly in the anchialine pool, or sometimes it may be accessible by cave diving.

References

  1. ↑ "Physical Characteristics of Great Salt Lake". learn.genetics.utah.edu. Retrieved 2024-11-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 Hammer, U. T. (1986-04-30). Saline Lake Ecosystems of the World. Springer Science & Business Media. p. 15. ISBN   978-90-6193-535-3.
  3. ↑ Oliva, Ma. Guadalupe; Lugo, Alfonso; Alcocer, Javier; Peralta, Laura; del Rosario Sánchez, Ma. (2001), Melack, John M.; Jellison, Robert; Herbst, David B. (eds.), "Phytoplankton dynamics in a deep, tropical, hyposaline lake", Saline Lakes, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 299–306, doi:10.1007/978-94-017-2934-5_27, ISBN   978-90-481-5995-6 , retrieved 2024-11-19
  4. 1 2 Bowman, Jeff S.; Sachs, Julian P. "Chemical and physical properties of some saline lakes in Alberta and Saskatchewan". Saline Systems. 4 (1): 3. doi: 10.1186/1746-1448-4-3 . ISSN   1746-1448. PMC   2365950 . PMID   18430240.
  5. 1 2 3 Saccò, Mattia; White, Nicole E.; Harrod, Chris; Salazar, Gonzalo; Aguilar, Pablo; Cubillos, Carolina F.; Meredith, Karina; Baxter, Bonnie K.; Oren, Aharon; Anufriieva, Elena; Shadrin, Nickolai; Marambio‐Alfaro, Yeri; Bravo‐Naranjo, Víctor; Allentoft, Morten E. "Salt to conserve: a review on the ecology and preservation of hypersaline ecosystems". Biological Reviews. 96 (6): 2828–2850. doi:10.1111/brv.12780. ISSN   1464-7931.
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  9. ↑ Last, William M. (2002-12-01). "Geolimnology of salt lakes". Geosciences Journal. 6 (4): 347–369. doi:10.1007/BF03020619. ISSN   1598-7477.
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  11. 1 2 Finlayson, C. M. (2016), Finlayson, C. Max; Milton, G. Randy; Prentice, R. Crawford; Davidson, Nick C. (eds.), "Salt Lakes", The Wetland Book: II: Distribution, Description and Conservation, Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands, pp. 1–12, doi:10.1007/978-94-007-6173-5_255-1, ISBN   978-94-007-6173-5 , retrieved 2024-11-16
  12. 1 2 Shadrin, Nickolai; Anufriieva, Elena; Gajardo, Gonzalo (Jan 2023). "Ecosystems of Inland Saline Waters in the World of Change". Water. 15 (1): 52. doi: 10.3390/w15010052 . ISSN   2073-4441.
  13. 1 2 Brauner, Colin J.; Gonzalez, Richard J.; Wilson, Jonathan M. (2012-01-01), McCormick, Stephen D.; Farrell, Anthony P.; Brauner, Colin J. (eds.), "9 - Extreme Environments: Hypersaline, Alkaline, and Ion-Poor Waters", Fish Physiology, Euryhaline Fishes, vol. 32, Academic Press, pp. 435–476, doi:10.1016/B978-0-12-396951-4.00009-8, ISBN   978-0-12-396951-4 , retrieved 2024-11-16
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