The origin and significance of groundwater-seepage gypsum from Bristol Dry Lake, California, USA

Gypsum and anhydrite fabrics observed in trenches and deep (500 m) cores from Bristol Dry Lake, California, USA, exhibit a vertical alignment of crystals similar to the fabric seen in bottom-nucleated brine pond gypsum. However, geochemical and sedimentological evidence indicate that the gypsum formed in Bristol Dry Lake precipitated displacively within the sediment where groundwater saturated with respect to gypsum recharges around the playa margin (groundwater-seepage gypsum). Evidence for displacive growth of gypsum is: (i) the geometry of the deposit, (ii) stable isotopic data and the water chemistry of the brine, and (iii) inclusions of matrix which follow twin planes and completely surround crystals as they grow. The bulk of the gypsum precipitated in the playa occurs around the edges of the playa in the playamargin facies and completely rings the lake. Sulphate concentrations in the groundwater increase toward the gypsum zone in the playa margin. Basinward of this zone, sulphate concentrations decrease sharply to trace element levels in the basin centre brine. Authigenic gypsum is rare in the centre of the playa. Stable (δ¹⁸O values measured for gypsum waters of crystallization (GWC) are similar to the values calculated for groundwater in the playa margin and alluvial fan sediments (?– 6%0), whereas measured brine δ¹⁸O values range from + 0·5 to + 3·7%0. Deuterium values measured for groundwater are ?– 70%0, GWC are ?– 60 to – 65%0 and brine values are ?– 57%0. The geometry of the deposit and the chemical data suggest that the water precipitating the gypsum is more closely associated with the groundwater than the brine. However, some mixing between groundwater and brine is likely. Within 100 m of the surface, the gypsum dehydrates to anhydrite, although the same vertically aligned fabric is retained through the diagenetic process. The similarity of displacive vertically aligned gypsum and anhydrite fabrics seen in Bristol Dry Lake to subaqueously deposited gypsum in modern brine ponds indicates that the criteria used to define subaqueous fabrics must be better constrained.     

Paratacamite from Gypsum Veins in Sandstones of the Kuqa Basin,Xinjiang, China: Implications for a New Epigenetic Cu Enrichment Mechanism

The Kuqa Basin filled with Paleogene evaporite series is located in the northeast of the Tarim Basin, Xinjiang, China. It is famous for sandstone‐hosted Cu deposits formed by synsedimentary processes. However, our recent studies reveal that there has been another Cu mineralization mechanism in this basin. Field investigations show that there is a close relationship among faults, salt domes, and brine. Cu deposits are mainly located in two east–west‐trending anticlinal belts in the basin, adjacent to salt domes in the belts. Cu minerals in gypsum veins of the Jidike and Kangcun formations have been investigated by SEM, EDS, and X‐ray diffraction methods. The occurrence of paratacamite in gypsum veins has been reported to coexist with glauberite and halite in the joint planes of sandstones. In addition, it occurs accompanying residual crystal salt encrustation in limestone fractures, or in sandstones in dendritic form. These features indicate that the surface‐Cu enrichment in the Kuqa Basin might have originated from Cu‐bearing brine in the underlying evaporite units, which migrated upward along fractures. In addition, the presence of H₂S in the east–west fault belt in the Kuqa Basin, and the discovery of surface sulfur, calcium carbonate, and covellite, suggest thermochemical sulfate reduction near salt domes in the deeper parts of the rock units. This process resulted in the generation of reduced brine and provided a favorable environment for Cu enrichment. Therefore, the surface‐Cu mineralization near salt domes is interpreted to be the result of Cu‐bearing brine migrating upward to the surface along faults (or joints) following the intrusion of deep salt domes. The geological evidence indicates the presence of reducing brine and Cu‐bearing brine near the salt dome in the deeper rocks of the Kuqa Basin, thus making the intrusive contact zone of the salt dome a favorable site for the epigenetic enrichment of Cu. Our study demonstrates that Cu enrichment in the Kuqa Basin resulted not only from synsedimentary deposition but also through epigenetic enrichment associated with salt dome intrusion and brine‐rich fluids.     

黄骅拗陷南部沉积盆地数学模拟的初步研究

六十年代初国外有人开始用确定型的数学模拟方法来模拟沉积盆地的形成和演化。L.L.Sloss(1962)提出了一种沉积盆地的概念模型,J.W.Harbaugh等(1970)详细地讨论了这种模型,并编制了计算机程序。这种模型适用于由流经海岸平原的河流携带到海边的大陆架上的碎屑沉积物的沉积作用。本文利用这种沉积模式,对我国黄骅拗陷南部一个约1000平方公里的膏盐湖沉积盆地进行了数学模拟,并取得了一些初步成果。     

Origin and evolution of major salts in the Darling pans,Western Cape,South Africa

Sediment and water samples from 12 saline pans on the semi-arid west coast of South Africa were analysed to determine the origin of salts and geochemical evolution of water in the pans. Pans in the area can be subdivided into large, gypsiferous coastal pans with 79–150 g/kg total dissolved salt (TDS), small inland brackish to saline (2–64 g/kg TDS) pans and small inland brine (168-531 g/kg TDS) pans that have a layer of black sulphidic mud below a halite crust. The salinity of coastal pan waters varies with the seasonal influx of dilute runoff and dissolution of relict Pleistocene marine evaporite deposits. In contrast, inland pans are local topographic depressions, bordered on the north by downslope lunette dunes, where solutes are concentrated by evaporation of runoff, throughflow and groundwater seepage. The composition of runoff and seepage inflow waters is determined by modification of coastal rainfall by weathering, calcite precipitation and ion exchange reactions in the predominantly granitic catchment soils. Evaporation of pan waters leads to precipitation of calcite, Mg–calcite, dolomite, gypsum and halite in a distinct stratigraphic succession in pan sediments. Bicarbonate limits carbonate precipitation, Ca limits gypsum precipitation and Na limits halite precipitation. Dolomitisation of calcite is enhanced by the high Mg/Ca ratio of brine pan waters. Brine pan waters evolve seasonally from Na–Cl dominated brines in the wet winter months to Mg–Cl dominated brines in the dry summer months, when 5–20 cm thick halite crusts cover pan surfaces. Pan formation was probably initiated during a drier climate period in the early Holocene. More recent replacement of natural vegetation by cultivated land may have accelerated salt accumulation in the pans.     

Sedimentology and evaporite genesis in a Holocene continental-sabkha playa basin—Bristol Dry Lake, California

Bristol Dry Lake, a 155 km² continental-sabkha playa basin in the Mojave Desert of south eastern California, is filled with at least 300 m of interbedded terrigenous clastics, gypsum, anhydrite, and halite. Evaporite facies conform approximately to a bull's eye pattern with gypsum and anhydrite surrounding a basin centre accumulation of halite. Transects through Bristol Dry Lake, from the alluvial fan to the centre of the playa, reveal: (1) crudely-bedded, alluvial fan clastics interfingering with (2) playa-margin sand flat and wadi sand and silt, followed by (3) gypsum, anhydrite, chaotic mud halite, and clay of the saline mud flat, and (4) salt-pan halite beds. Terrigenous clastics were deposited in Bristol Dry Lake by sheetflow and by suspension settling from ponded floodwater. Some sediment has been reworked by aeolian processes to form barchan dunes around the playa margin. Thin nodular-like beds of anhydrite and several types of gypsum occur across most of the playa. Giant hopper-shaped halite cubes are suspended in saline mud flat facies, suggesting that they grew displacively in brine soaked sediment just below the surface. Thick beds (4 m) of halite, in the playa centre, may have formed through a complex alternating history of subaqueous and intrasedimentary precipitation under the influence of periodic floods, intense evaporation and brine-level lowering, and capillary discharge of brines. The stratigraphy in the playa centre is cyclic. An ideal cycle consists of: (1) chaotic mud halite at the base overlain by (2) green to red clay with abundant, giant hoppers, and at the top (3) red clay, gypsum, and anhydrite with flaser- to wavy-bedded sand and silt. This type of cycle probably records a gradual progradation of mud-flat facies over salt pans. Bristol Dry Lake sediments are nearly identical to some of the Permian evaporites of the Permian Basin region, U.S.A. and they can serve as modern analogues for ancient-sabkha facies analysis.     

新疆罗布泊盐湖氢氧锶硫同位素地球化学及钾矿成矿物质来源

罗布泊罗北凹地第四系上部盐层中蕴藏丰富的卤水,卤水中则富含钾（ＫＣｌ平均品位为１．４０％）。文章通过对罗布泊卤水氢、氧、锶及硫同位素等分析及与塔里木盆地（河流）、柴达木盆地等地区对比研究,确定了罗布泊富钾卤水源于地表水,可能主要是塔里木盆地南北缘河流水;卤水中的硫钾等物质组分主要来源于南天山、塔里木盆地西北、西南部中新生代石膏钙芒硝石盐矿床或地层及其古代地层卤水。由于第四纪期间塔里木盆地西部抬升。     

Seismic‐stratigraphic record of a deglaciation sequence: from the marine Laflamme Gulf to Lake Saint‐Jean (late Quaternary,Québec,Canada)

The stratigraphy of the last deglaciation sequence is investigated in Lake Saint‐Jean (Québec Province, Canada) based on 300 km of echo‐sounder two dimensional seismic profiles. The sedimentary archive of this basin is documented from the Late Pleistocene Laurentidian ice‐front recession to the present‐day situation. Ten seismic units have been identified that reflect spatio‐temporal variations in depositional processes characterizing different periods of the Saint‐Jean basin evolution. During the postglacial marine flooding, a high deposition rate of mud settling, from proglacial glacimarine and then prodeltaic plumes in the Laflamme Gulf, produced an extensive, up to 50 m thick mud sheet draping the isostatically depressed marine basin floor. Subsequently, a closing of the water body due to glacio‐isostatic rebound occurred at 8.5 cal. ka BP, drastically modifying the hydrodynamics. Hyperpycnal flows appeared because fresh lake water replaced dense marine water. River sediments were transferred towards the deeper part of the lake into river‐related sediment drifts and confined lobes. The closing of the water body is also marked by the onset of a wind‐driven internal circulation associating coastal hydrodynamics and bottom currents with sedimentary features including shoreface deposits, sediment drifts and a prograding shelf‐type body. The fingerprints of a forced regression are well expressed by mouth‐bar systems and by the shoreface–shelf system, the latter unexpected in such a lacustrine setting. In both cases, a regressive surface of lacustrine erosion (RSLE) has been identified, separating sandy mouth‐bar from glaciomarine to prodeltaic muds, and sandy shoreface wedges from the heterolithic shelf‐type body, respectively. The Lake Saint‐Jean record is an example of a regressive succession driven by a glacio‐isostatic rebound and showing the transition from late‐glacial to post‐glacial depositional systems.     

Deep to shallow lacustrine evaporites in the Libros Gypsum (southern Teruel Basin, Miocene, NE Spain): an occurrence of pelletal gypsum rhythmites

ABSTRACT A number of non‐marine evaporite units composed of primary gypsum were deposited in saline lakes that developed in the southern Teruel Basin (NE Spain) during the Miocene. In the basin depocentre, a continuum of lacustrine evaporite lithofacies influenced by the activity of organisms is displayed. The Libros Gypsum was deposited in a deep lake, in which water stratification became unstable with progressive shoaling. Rhythmites, composed of laminae of pelletal gypsum and laminae of very fine lenticular gypsum crystals mixed with siliceous microorganisms, formed in addition to gypsum turbidites, intraformational gypsum breccias and slump structures. The pelletal laminae originated from the faecal activity of animals (crustaceans?) ingesting gypsum crystallites in the lake water during episodes of maximum evaporation, whereas the laminae of very fine lenticular gypsum mixed with microorganisms accumulated during episodes of relative dilution. In the wide marginal zones of the basin, the Libros Gypsum unit consists of massive to thin‐bedded bioturbated gypsum and thin‐bedded clotted gypsum, which formed in intermediate to very shallow (palustrine) water depths. The bioturbated gypsum lithofacies were produced by the action of diverse organisms, presumably worms and coleopterans, and chironomid larvae to a lesser extent; the massive lithofacies precipitated in very shallow water; and the thin‐bedded lithofacies formed in shallow to deeper settings. The thin‐bedded clotted gypsum is a relatively deep facies that may have diverse origins (e.g. bioturbation, compaction, disruption of soft sediments and early diagenesis). There is a well‐developed metre‐scale cyclicity in the marginal lake sequences, which is not observed in the inner lake deposits. This suggests a depth control in the various lacustrine subenvironments to record cyclic evaporitic processes. The isotopic composition of the gypsum indicates early sulphate‐reducing bacterial activity in the bottom of the lake and suggests that the sulphate was derived from the chemical recycling of Triassic evaporites of the country rocks.     

Minerogenic Theory of the Superlarge Lop Nur Potash Deposit, Xinjiang, China

Located in the eastern part of the Tarim basin, Xinjiang, the Lop Nur was an ultimate water catchment area of the Tarim basin during the Quaternary. Through nearly ten years of investigation and research, the authors have found a superlarge brine potash deposit in the Luobei subbasitv—a secondary basin of the Lop Nur depression. The deposit has been mined now. On that basis, the authors propose new theories on the genesis of the potash rock deposit. In the tectonic and geomorphologic contexts, the Tarim basin lies in a “high mountain-deep basin” environment. At the beginning of the Quaternary, influenced by the neotectonic movement, the Lop Nur evolved into a “deep basin” in the Tarim basin. At the end of the middle Pleistocene, neotectonic migration began to take place in the interior of the Lop Nur and a new secondary deep basin—the Luobei subbasin—formed gradually. Despite its small area, it is actually the deepest subbasin in the Lop Nur depression, where brines of the Lop Nur Salt Lake gather and evaporate, thus providing materials for the formation of a superlarge brine potash rock deposit. With respect to the phenomenon of brine concentration and change with deepening of the lake, the authors propose a model of “high mountain-deep basin” tectonic migration for potash concentration. In the sedimentological context, the honeycomb-shaped voids developed in glauberite rock in the subbasin are good space for potash-rich brine accumulation. Study indicates that the deposition of glauberite requires recharge of calcium-rich water.In the Tarim area the calcium-rich water might come from deep formation water or oilfield water, and the river water recharging the Lop Nur Salt Lake was rich in sulfate radicals and other components; in addition, the climate in the area was very dry and the brine evaporated steadily, thus resulting in deposition of substantial amount of glauberite, potash accumulation in intercrystal brine and final formation of the potash deposit. Generally, potash formation in a salt lake undergoes a three-stage process of “carbonates→sulfates (gypsum and glauberite)→chlorides (halite etc.)”, but in the study area there only occurred a two-stage process of “carbonates→sulfates (gypsum and glauberite)”. The authors call this new geological phenomenon the “two-stage potash formation” model. In conclusion, the superlarge Lop Nur potash deposit is the result of combined “high mountain-deep basin” tectonism and “two-stage potash formation”.     

Discovery,Genesis and Significance of Metallic Minerals in Evaporate Series in the Kuqa Basin

A large-scale evaporate series is developed in Paleogene-Neogene strata in the Kuqa basin. The series is composed mainly of evaporate with thin beds of clastic rock (mainly mudstone and siltstone). In grayish white medium- and coarse-grained sandstone in Miocene strata, the formation of copper minerals is in close connection with brine. In joint planes, which are developed in vertical strata, are filled with gypsum. Gypsum and copper-mineralized sandstone contains enormous copper minerals, mainly atacamite. According to the SEM analysis for salt rock, gypsum rock, limestone, grayish green siltstone, grayish white medium-coarse-grained sandstone, some minerals are composed of metallic elements including Au, Ag, Cu, Zn, Pb, Co, Ni and U etc., in which Au occurs in a native form, Cu occurs in a native form or as atacamite in salt rock, gypsum rock and limestone, Ag occurs as silver sulfide in gypsum, and Zn, Pb, Co, Ni, U occur as compounds along with the above metallic ions in evaporate or clastic rock. From SEM images, we can see that metallic elements or their compounds (oxides or sulfides) “take root” as grains in salt or gypsum crystals, which belong to primary chemical sedimentation along with evaporate, while some grains “float” on surface of salt or gypsum. In the former case, mineral grains were formed together with salt (gypsum) crystals; while in the latter case, minerals were enriched from internal metallic ions (Paleogene evaporate samples) or external metallic ions (Neogene gypsum samples) in the late stage of evaporate formation. The metallic ions in Paleogene evaporate samples might originate from weathered or denudated materials in the south Tianshan Mountains. The metallic ions in the Neogene evaporate samples might be from metal-bearing brine, which migrated upward to surface along fractures and leached into evaporate (gypsum). Occurrence of metallic minerals and their compounds (elementary substance) in Paleogene evaporate proves that diversified metallic minerals exist in evaporate. The source of metallic ions in the Neogene evaporate series shows that evaporate could provide materials for late-stage metallic mineralization.     

Marine-like potash evaporite formation on a continental playa: case study from Chott el Djerid, southern Tunisia

An exceptional flood in January 1990 led to the formation of a large ephemeral lake on the Chott el Djerid, a salt playa in southern Tunisia. Repeated observations made during 1990 show that the ephemeral lake underwent four evolutionary stages: (1) initial flooding, (2) evaporative concentration of lake waters, (3) the movement of concentrated brine pools over the playa surface as a result of wind action, and (4) total desiccation of the lake by September 1990. During all four stages the brine chemistry of the lake was monitored. Water inflow into the Chott el Djerid basin was found to have a consistent Ca-SO₄-Cl-rich and HCO₃-CO₃-poor chemistry, reflecting the recycling of homogeneous assemblages of Cretaceous, Mio—Pliocene and Quaternary evaporites within the catchment. As the ephemeral lake shrank, these waters produced an Na-Mg-K-Cl-SO₄ brine which was similar to modern sea water. Mineral saturation data show that, during the desiccation of the lake, saturation with respect to both gypsum and halite was achieved and that the most concentrated brines were ultimately saturated with respect to potash phases. After the desiccation of the lake the main mineral phases found on the Chott included gypsum and halite. In addition, ephemeral deposits of carnallite (observed as carnallitite,3KMgCl_3·6H₂0 + NaCl) were found. This assemblage is that which would be expected to form if the waters had undergone salt norm evaporation at 1 bar pressure at 25°C (SNORM) in the evaporation model proposed by Jones and Bodine (1987). The nature of both the brine chemistry and evaporite mineralogy provides a new and rare example of marine-like potash-bearing evaporites being formed in a contemporary continental playa.     

Multiple drivers of Holocene lake level changes at a lowland lake in northeastern Germany

Many German lakes experienced significant water level declines in recent decades that are not fully understood due to the short observation period. At a typical northeastern German groundwater‐fed lake with a complex basin morphology, an acoustic sub‐bottom profile was analysed together with a transect of five sediment cores, which were correlated using multiple proxies (sediment facies, μ‐XRF, macrofossils, subfossil Cladocera). Shifts in the boundary between sand and mud deposition were controlled by lake level changes, and hence, allowed the quantification of an absolute lake level amplitude of ~8 m for the Holocene. This clearly exceeded observed modern fluctuations of 1.3 m (AD 1973–2010). Past lake level changes were traced continuously using the calcium‐record. During high lake levels, massive organic muds were deposited in the deepest lake basin, whereas lower lake levels isolated the sub‐basins and allowed carbonate deposition. During the beginning of the Holocene (>9700 cal. a BP), lake levels were high, probably due to final melting of permafrost and dead‐ice remains. The establishment of water‐use intensive Pinus forests caused generally low (3–4 m below modern) but fluctuating lake levels (9700–6400 cal. a BP). Afterwards, the lake showed an increasing trend and reached a short‐term highstand at c. 5000 cal. a BP (4 m above modern). At the transition towards a cooler and wetter late Holocene, forests dominated by Quercus and Fagus and initial human impact probably contributed more positively to groundwater recharge. Lake levels remained high between 3800 and 800 cal. a BP, but the lake system was not sensitive enough to record short‐term fluctuations during this period. Lake level changes were recorded again when humans profoundly affected the drainage system, land cover and lake trophy. Hence, local Holocene water level changes reflect feedbacks between catchment and vegetation characteristics and human impact superimposed by climate change at multiple temporal scales.     

An explanation for the varves of the Castile evaporites (Upper Permian), Texas and New Mexico, USA

Abstract Extraordinary sequences of conspicuous, pervasive and laterally persistent varves characterize the Castile evaporites. They occur as singlets (calcite laminae), couplets (calcite laminae interstratified with anhydrite laminae), thick couplets (calcite laminae interstratified with thin anhydrite beds) and triplets (calcite and anhydrite laminae interstratified with thin halite beds). The varves accumulated in a deep (initially ≈ 550 m), persistently stratified, saline lake surrounded by an extinct reef. The lake had formed when the reef grew across a channel between an embayment and the ocean. Although located virtually on the palaeo-equator, the lake experienced negligible meteoric influx and extreme seasonality. During the season of high relative humidity, more marine groundwater entered the lake through the permeable reef barrier than exited as reflux and, secondarily, as evaporation. Consequently, the lake level rose by up to several metres to sea level. The ‘refreshening’ decreased salinity and replenished dissolved CO₂– the critical nutrient limiting growth of indigenous phytoplankton. Algae proliferated, pH increased and CaCO₃ precipitated. It mixed with organic matter to form a thin, dark lamina. During the season of low relative humidity, tens of cubic kilometres of water evaporated from and, secondarily, leaked out through the surrounding reef. More water exited than entered, brine level fell below sea level, and salinity of the upper brine layer increased. Gypsum usually precipitated and rained onto the basin floor forming a couplet; infrequently, halite also precipitated forming a triplet. Every few thousand years, for <50 to several hundred years, the lake became unstratified during the dry season, and wind-induced overturn allowed a layer of gypsum crystals up to ≈ 2 cm high to precipitate on the basin floor. Each layer, now thin beds of anhydrite nodules and anhydrite pseudomorphs after gypsum, and an underlying lamina of CaCO₃ and admixed organic matter formed a thick couplet. The different varve types recur with a period of 1800–3000 years reflecting climatic changes on a millennial time scale.     

老挝万象盆地钾盐矿床微量元素地球化学特征 及矿床的成因

老挝万象盆地钾镁盐矿主要富集在塔贡组下段膏盐中,主要由石盐岩、光卤石、钾石盐、含光卤石钾石盐及少量溢晶石等组成,属单层结构类型。钾镁盐矿中的微量元素Br、Rb和氯化物有直接的关系,是在万象盆地内找钾的直接标志,可在不同程度上反映原始盐溶液的浓缩发展过程。而Sr、B地球化学性质稳定,随卤水浓度的增高而富集在卤液中,可间接指示含钾的层位。证实了万象盆地的卤水来源于南部呵叻盆地,并有地表水体及深部卤水补给的可能性。研究万象盆地元素的地球化学特征,对丰富古代固体钾盐成矿理论、指导兰坪-思茅盆地蒸发岩研究及找钾工作具有重要的指示意义。     

库车前陆盆地古－新近系铜矿化特征及铜的来源、富集分布初探

库车盆地铜成矿作用发生在新近纪,主要有砂岩型、泥岩型、灰岩型、含石英脉硫化物型铜矿化。矿化主要分布在盆地南部的秋里塔格构造带和北部的克拉苏构造带,基本位于背斜核部偏两翼部位,沿近东西向的断裂带呈带状分布,发育在盐丘附近。主要的地表铜矿物是氯铜矿,为干旱气候条件下含盐盆地的产物。盆地古近系蒸发岩电镜分析、石膏铜含量化学分析及新近系碎屑岩中铜含量变化分析结果表明：盐岩、膏岩,褐红色碎屑岩（粉砂岩、泥质粉砂岩、泥岩）为铜的矿源层,灰绿色粉砂岩、泥岩、灰白色（含砾）中粗砂岩为铜的含矿层。铜离子的运移载体为源自大气降水溶解蒸发岩所形成的卤水,卤水淋滤褐红色碎屑岩中的铜并下渗到地下,在以构造挤压为主及盐构造卸负作用产生流体上涌的驱动力下沿断裂向地表运移,随着卤水温度压力降低,在干旱气候条件下,在地表碎屑岩节理面、部分层理面上盐、膏、铜矿物析出,形成地表砂岩型、泥岩型、灰岩型铜矿化。如果含铜卤水经过被方解石交代的硬石膏带时,遇到由于TSR反应形成的还原硫、氧化－还原化学障,铜会发生富集,可能形成地下铜矿体。     

老挝万象盆地钾盐矿床微量元素地球化学特征及矿床的成因

老挝万象盆地钾镁盐矿主要富集在塔贡组下段膏盐中,主要由石盐岩、光卤石、钾石盐、含光卤石钾石盐及少量溢晶石等组成,属单层结构类型。钾镁盐矿中的微量元素Br、Rb和氯化物有直接的关系,是在万象盆地内找钾的直接标志,可在不同程度上反映原始盐溶液的浓缩发展过程。而Sr、B地球化学性质稳定,随卤水浓度的增高而富集在卤液中,可间接指示含钾的层位。证实了万象盆地的卤水来源于南部呵叻盆地,并有地表水体及深部卤水补给的可能性。研究万象盆地元素的地球化学特征,对丰富古代固体钾盐成矿理论、指导兰坪-思茅盆地蒸发岩研究及找钾工作具有重要的指示意义。     

Quaternary palaeohydrological evolution of a playa lake: Salada Mediana, central Ebro Basin, Spain

Sedimentary features, mineralogy, bulk geochemical composition, stable isotope analyses and pollen data from sediment cores were used to reconstruct the Late Quaternary depositional evolution of the Salada Mediana playa lake (central Ebro Basin, northeastern Spain). The 150-cm-long sediment core sequence is composed of gypsum- and dolomite-rich muds (Lower and Middle sections) and black, laminated, calcite-bearing sediments (Upper section). The Salada Mediana formed as a karstic depression in the Miocene gypsum substratum during the Late Pleistocene. The Lower section was deposited in a sulphate–carbonate saline lake that ended with a period of desiccation and basin floor deflation. Subsequent deposition (Middle section) took place in a playa-lake system. Two cycles of lower water table and expanded saline mud flats occurred. The Holocene sequence is missing, probably as a result of aeolian erosion. Sedimentation resumed only a few centuries ago, and saline pan environments dominated until modern times. The Salada Mediana facies succession was mainly governed by fluctuations in the hydrological balance, brine composition, and salinity; however, aeolian processes (detrital input and deflation) and recycling of previously precipitated salts also played a significant role.     

Recent analog of gypsified microbial laminites and stromatolites in solar salt works and the Miocene gypsum deposits of Saudi Arabia and Egypt

Accumulation of microbial mats and stromatolites dominate in the crystallization ponds of solar salt works west of Alexandria, Egypt. These microbial mats are laminar in the permanent submerged part of the ponds. The microbial mats commonly form sites for growth of gypsum crystals during periods having higher salinity. In the dominant submerged part of the pond, domal stromatolites are common around groundwater seepage holes. In the shallow, intermittent margin of the ponds, the laminated microbial structure forms laterally close-linked hemispheroidal stromatolite type, with unidirectional and multidirectional ripple mark-like morphology on their surface. The microbial laminite and stromatolite types in the modern solar salt works are similar to the organic-rich Miocene gypsum beds of El-Barqan (west Alexandria, Egypt) and Rabigh (north Jeddah, Saudi Arabia). The Miocene organic-rich beds consist of interlayered dark-colored microbial laminae and light-colored gypsum laminae. These beds may have three different variations: regular even lamination, laterally closed-linked hemispheroidal stromatolites, and/or discrete hemispheroidal stromatolites. Petrographic examination of the microbial laminites and stromatolites in the solar salt works and the Miocene gypsum beds indicate that the dark-colored, organic-rich laminae are composed of micritized microbial laminae and/or brown organic filaments. In El-Barqan area, the light-colored gypsum-rich laminae are composed of either gypsum crystal fragments, or lenticular and prismatic gypsum. These gypsum crystals are either entrapped within the microbial filaments or are nucleated at the surface of the microbial laminae to form a radial pattern, whereas in Rabigh area, the light-colored gypsum-rich laminae are composed of secondary porphyrotopic, poikilotopic, or granular gypsum crystals. By comparison of the microbial structure in the Miocene gypsum beds with the recent occurrence of the microbial laminites and stromatolites in the solar salt works, it is demonstrated that the organic-rich Miocene gypsum beds were formed in a very shallow salina with slightly fluctuating brine levels.     

Sedimentology of a saline playa in the northern Great Plains, Canada

Ceylon Lake, a small salt playa located in southern Saskatchewan, is typical of many shallow ephemeral lacustrine basins found in the northern Great Plains of western Canada. The present-day brine, dominated by magnesium, sodium, and sulphate ions, shows wide variation in composition and concentration on both a temporal and a spatial basis. The modern sediments overall exhibit relatively simple facies relationships. An outer ring of coarse grained shoreline and colluvial clastics surrounds mixed fine grained clastics and salts and, in the centre of the basin, salt pan evaporites composed mainly of mirabilite, thenardite, and bloedite. Coring of the late Pleistocene and Holocene sedimentary fill shows that the lake has evolved from a relatively dilute, deep water, clastic dominated basin through a shallower, brackish water, carbonate-clastic phase, and finally into the present salt dominated playa. The thick sequence of evaporites preserved in the basin suggests evolution of the brine from a Na-rich solution to a mixed Mg-Na system. The most important post-depositional processes affecting Ceylon Lake sediments are mud diapirism and salt karsting.     

塔西南坳陷古新统蒸发岩沉积条件及成因模式初探

基于近期野外地质调查及钻井资料整理,对塔西南地区古新统蒸发岩沉积特征、展布规律及成因模式进行了初步探讨。研究表明,塔西南古新统吐依洛克组蒸发岩以石盐岩为主,为海退过程中的产物;阿尔塔什组蒸发岩以石膏岩或者硬石膏岩为主,为缓慢海侵的产物。吐依洛克组石盐岩沉积是海退背景下、多级盆地卤水回流的结果,其受控于同时期区域性构造运动和海平面变化等多种因素。古新世早期,从卡拉库姆盆地向东至费尔干纳-阿富汗-塔吉克盆地再到塔西南地区,在空间上表现为一个自西向东水体盐度逐渐升高的湖链系统。在塔西南与最西部特提斯海之间,以石膏相为主的预备盆地的出现,是导致塔西南地区吐依洛克组蒸发岩以石盐岩为主而显著缺乏石膏岩的主要原因。这种多级次级盆地中卤水的回流作用对盐类物质向后期分异具有积极意义,指示了塔西南古新统具有较好的成钾远景。