青藏高原热喀斯特湖演化及其对多年冻土的热影响模型计算研究北大核心CSCD

青藏高原热喀斯特湖分布广泛,近年来在气候变暖背景下快速发展。热喀斯特湖的形成和发展与地下冰含量及气候变化有着密切关系,强烈影响多年冻土的热稳定性。为了更深入理解在气候变暖背景下热喀斯特湖的发展及其对下伏多年冻土的影响,以青藏高原北麓河地区一个典型热喀斯特湖的长期监测数据为资料,发展了耦合大气—湖塘—冻土三个过程要素的一维热传导模型,模拟了四种不同深度热喀斯特湖在气候变暖背景下的发展规律及其对多年冻土的热影响。结果表明:浅湖(<1.0m)在目前稳定气候背景下处于较稳定状态,湖冰能够回冻至湖底,对下伏多年冻土影响较小;较深湖塘(≥1.0m)冬季不能回冻至湖底,湖深不断增加,且底部在50年内将会形成不同深度的融区。随着气候变暖,热喀斯特湖的热效应显著,深度快速增加,较深湖塘的最大湖冰厚度减小,底部多年冻土快速融化形成开放融区。研究将有助于理解气候变化对青藏高原多年冻土区地貌演化及水文过程的影响。     

季节性冰封热融浅湖水温原位观测及其分层特征

为探究季节性冰封浅湖热力学特征,于2010年10月至2013年7月对高原腹地一典型热融湖塘冰层生消、水/冰温及气象条件开展原位观测,分析了水温分布时间变化、温跃层以及冰生消对水温结构的影响。结果发现:冰面升华显著,贯穿整个冰期;水温日变化、季节变化和垂直结构受气温、大气辐射、风速、冰生消和湖底沉积层热贡献影响显著;在"无冰期-结冰前-冰生长期-冰融化期-融化后-无冰期"年循环过程中水温垂直结构分别呈现出"分层-翻转-逆温分层-逆温与正温共存-翻转-分层"的循环过程。分层期水温结构仅由上部混合层和温跃层构成,且偶因强风搅动而全湖翻转混合。可见,相比大中型湖泊,季节性冰封浅湖热力学结构差异显著。     

Orthogonal Variance Structures in Lake Water Quality Data and Their Use for Geo-chemical Classification of Dimictic, Glacial/Boreal Lakes

The accumulating volumes of data collected within environmental monitoring programs facilitate the use of exploratory statistical methods of data analysis as a supplement to traditional methods of characterizing lake water quality. When principal component analysis and multidimensional scaling are applied to a matrix containing approximately 24000 samples of lake water quality variables pH, alkalinity, conductivity, hardness, color, Secchi depth and total phosphorus concentration, it is found that the total matrix variance can be approximately reproduced in an orthogonal two-dimensional base with transformations of hardness and color as best principal component representatives. This base is suggested as an empirical lake classification standard where the variance structure of subset lake populations (such as single lakes) can be referenced to the water quality standard of the generic population. Since the principal axes of the base exclusively contain inorganic and organic related variables respectively, the combined inorganic/organic characteristics of the lake can be expressed with the hardness and color variables alone. With the data matrix being large enough to produce high significance levels, and with variable ranges wide enough to represent a majority of dimictic, glacial/boreal lakes, the analysis results should be valid in many lakes throughout the world.     

Phytoplankton, nutrients, and transparency in Danish coastal waters

We present a comparative analysis of 1400 data series of water chemistry (particularly nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations), phytoplankton biomass as chlorophylla (chla) concentrations, concentrations of suspended matter and Secchi depth transparency collected from the mid-1980s to the mid-1990s from 162 stations in 27 Danish fjords and coastal waters. The results demonstrate that Danish coastal waters were heavily eutrophied and had high particle concentrations and turbid waters. Median values were 5.1 μg chla 1⁻¹, 10.0 mg DW 1⁻¹ of suspended particles, and Secchi depth of 3.6 m. Chlorophyll concentration was strongly linked to the total-nitrogen concentration. The strength of this relationship increased from spring to summer as the concentration of total nitrogen declined. During summer, total nitrogen concentrations accounted for about 60% of the variability in chlorophyll concentrations among the different coastal systems. The relationship between chlorophyll and total phosphorus was more consistant over the year and correlations were much weaker than encountered for total nitrogen. Secchi depth could be predicted with good precision from measurements of chlorophyll and suspended matter. In a multiple stepwise regression model with In-transformed values the two variables accounted for most of the variability in water transparency for the different seasons and the period March–October as a whole (c. 80%). We were able to demonstrate a significant relationship between total nitrogen and Secchi depth, with important implications for management purposes.     

Modeling the effects of environmental variables on short-term spatial changes in phytoplankton biomass in a large shallow lake,Lake Taihu

Understanding the short-term response of phytoplankton biomass on environmental variables is needed for issuing early warnings of harmful algal blooms in aquatic ecosystems. Predicting harmful algal blooms are particularly challenging in large shallow lakes due to their complex mixing patterns. This study used a two-dimensional hydrodynamic–phytoplankton model to evaluate the effects of environmental variables on short-term changes in the horizontal distribution of phytoplankton biomass in a large shallow lake, Lake Taihu, China. Two simulations were performed using daily and hourly average wind condition and water temperature data collected in 2009. Other model inputs were identical for these two simulations. The response of phytoplankton to wind conditions, light intensity, water temperature, and total dissolved phosphorus and nitrogen concentrations were examined based on a sensitivity analysis using the hourly data. Hourly simulation achieved a more realistic distribution of phytoplankton biomass than the daily simulation. This finding implies that data with a higher temporal resolution are more useful for short-term prediction of phytoplankton biomass in this lake. Sensitivity analysis indicated that water temperature and light intensity dominate short-term changes in phytoplankton biomass in this lake. Wind conditions also affect phytoplankton biomass distribution by causing advective water movement.     

Drastic desalination of small lakes in East Siberia (Russia) in the early twentieth century: inferred from sedimentological, geochemical and palynological composition of small lakes

Reconstruction of temporal and spatial climate development on a seasonal basis during the last few centuries may help us better understand modern-day interplay between natural and anthropogenic climate variability. The objective of this paper is to reconstruct hydrology and landscape changes of East Siberia during the termination of the Little Ice Age and the subsequent Recent Warming. We analysed sediment samples from the saltwater Sulfatnoe Lake, Bolshoye Alginskoe and freshwater Shuchie Lake using high-resolution X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at 1-mm scan resolution, Fourier-transform infrared techniques and pollen analyses. The depth–age models of the cores were constructed by ²¹⁰Pb activity using the constant rate of supply model. The lake sediment cover of these lakes began to form from ca. 1870. Three significant periods (1870–1895, 1895–1925 and from 1925 to the present) were defined in hydrology and chemical regime of these lakes for the past 140 years. Lake levels were extremely low and high saturated with salts during the final period of the Little Ice Age. Lake levels began to slowly rise from 1870 to 1895 and vegetation was poor at that period. Intensive desalination of the lakes occurred in 1895–1925, and environment conditions were temperate and favourable for the majority of the taxa of the regional vegetation. Regional precipitation significantly increased and water saturation of the catchments was high from 1925 to the present. The chemical precipitation of carbonate stopped completely in Lake Shichie and reduced considerably in Lake Sulfatnoe and B. Alginskoe. Strong increasing trend of weathering of the lake catchments began in 1970 and still continues.     

青藏工程走廊热融湖塘水理化特性分析

为查明青藏工程走廊热融湖塘水理化特性及其理化特性与湖塘分布之间的关系,选取青藏工程走廊楚玛尔河至风火山段为研究区域,沿青藏公路从北向南依次选取19个热融湖塘进行水深、面积等几何特征调研并取水样,进行阴阳离子等理化参数测定。分析了热融湖塘水的理化特性,并结合调研资料探讨了热融湖塘理化特性与区域环境及湖塘分布之间的相关性。结果表明在3个研究亚区湖的水理化特性有较大差别,楚玛尔河高平原从北向南湖水矿化度逐渐升高,水质由淡水向咸水再到强咸水过渡,主要与该区域"碟"状湖的分布特征和寒旱多风及蒸发量大有关;可可西里山区和北麓河盆地的湖水矿化度较低,水质以弱咸水或淡水为主。这两个亚区湖较深,地形以丘陵盆地为主,降低了湖面的蒸发量。     

Models to predict water chemical cluster variables

This study is an attempt to quantify and rank variables of significance to predict mean values of lake pH and related variables (alkalinity, conductivity, hardness, etc.) in small glacial lakes. The work is based on a new and extensive set of data from 95 Swedish lakes and their catchment areas. Several empirical models based on catchment and lake morphometric parameters have been presented. These empirical models can only be used to predict mean values of these variables for lakes of the same type, and these models based on geological map parameters can evidently not be used for highly time-dependent and site-typical predictions. Various hypotheses concerning the factors regulating the mean values of the cluster variables were formulated and tested. Different statistical tests were used to separate random influences from causal. The most important map parameters were: the percent of rocks and open (=cultivated) land in the so-called near area to the lake [as determined with the drainage area zonation (DAZ) method], mean depth, linked to resuspension and the form and size of lakes, relief of the drainage area and lake area. Each of these variables only provides a limited degree of (statistical) explanation of the variability in mean annual values of pH and the water chemical cluster variables among the lakes. The predictability of some of the models can be markedly improved by accounting for the distribution of the characteristics in the drainage area. The variability in mean annual values of pH (and related variables) from other parameters, such as specific anthropogenic load, etc., may then be quantitatively differentiated from the impact of these geological parameters. This paper also gives a simple method to estimate natural, preindustrial reference values of these water chemical variables from the presented models.     

松辽盆地晚白垩世青山口组—嫩江组一段介形类壳饰､壳形类型与环境关系分析

本文在对松辽盆地晚白垩世青山口组—嫩江组一段介形类壳饰?壳形类型划分的基础上,对研究层位12 种壳饰类型与9 种壳形类型的介形类可能生活的环境及其变化特征进行了探讨?研究表明,松辽盆地晚白垩世刺状壳饰的介形类生活的最佳环境为深湖—半深湖相环境;瘤状壳饰的介形类适宜生活于水质清?矿化度较高?pH值也较高的浅湖—半深湖相环境;深蜂孔?饰边?长瘤或隆脊壳饰的介形类生活于深湖—半深湖相环境;浅蜂孔?网状?细纹?细脊壳饰的介形类主要生活于滨浅湖相环境?三角形?长方形壳形的介形类生活于深湖—半深湖相环境;低梯形?五边形壳形的介形类部分种类生活的环境为深湖相环境,另外一些种类生活于半深湖—浅湖相环境;高梯形壳形的介形类一般适宜的环境为浅湖相环境;椭圆形壳形的介形类基本生活于滨浅湖相环境;肾形壳形的介形类一般生活于浅湖—半深湖相环境?青山口组一段的介形类群以适应深湖—半深湖相的具饰边壳饰?低五边形壳形的介形类为主;青山口组二?三段介形类的壳饰与壳形类型虽然丰富多样,但与湖泊沉积环境变化也具有很好的对应关系;姚家组介形类的壳饰均以适应浅水相环境的浅蜂孔?细脊壳饰为主,壳形以椭圆形占绝对优势为特征,后期随着湖泊水深增大,出现了少量反映较深水相环境的深蜂孔壳饰与三角形和长方形壳形类型;嫩江组一段介形类的壳饰类型较少,以深蜂孔与浅蜂孔类型为主,壳形类型相对较多,椭圆形?长肾形?长方形?三角形?低梯形类型均有一定含量?     

Oxygen and Hydrogen Isotopes of Waters in the Ordos Basin,China: Implications for Recharge of Groundwater in the North of Cretaceous Groundwater Basin

Hundreds of precipitation samples collected from meteorological stations in the Ordos Basin from January 1988 to December 2005 were used to set up a local meteoric water line and to calculate weighted average isotopic compositions of modern precipitation. Oxygen and hydrogen isotopes, with averages of ?7.8‰ and ?53.0‰ for δ18O and δD, respectively, are depleted in winter and rich in spring, and gradually decrease in summer and fall, illustrating that the seasonal effect is considerable. They also show that the isotopic difference between south portion and north portion of the Ordos Basin are not obvious, and the isotope in the middle portion is normally depleted. The isotope compositions of 32 samples collected from shallow groundwater (less than a depth of 150 m) in desert plateau range from ?10.6‰ to ?6.0‰ with an average of ?8.4‰ for δ18O and from ?85‰ to ?46‰ with an average of ?63‰ for δD. Most of them are identical with modern precipitation. The isotope compositions of 22 middle and deep groundwaters (greater than a depth of 275 m) fall in ranges from ?11.6‰ to ?8.8‰ with an average of ?10.2‰ for δ18O and from ?89‰ to ?63‰ with an average of ?76‰ for δD. The average values are significantly less than those of modern precipitation, illustrating that the middle and deep groundwaters were recharged at comparatively lower air temperatures. Primary analysis of 14C shows that the recharge of the middle and deep groundwaters started at late Pleistocene. The isotopes of 13 lake water samples collected from eight lakes define a local evaporation trend, with a relatively flat slope of 3.77, and show that the lake waters were mainly fed by modern precipitation and shallow groundwater.     

Water quality and sediment geochemistry in lakes of Yunnan Province, southern China

 Yungui Plateau lakes in southwestern China are economically important, although few have been studied previously. Water and sediments of 24 lakes throughout Yunnan Province were sampled in October 1994. We describe the chemical and physical characteristics of Yunnan lakes, and address effects of regional geology and human influences on water quality and sediment type. Water quality differs between deep Yunnan lakes of tectonic origin and shallow solution basins. Shallow lakes generally have higher nutrient concentrations and appear to be more susceptible to riparian disturbance than deeper lakes. Shallow lakes with high macrophyte standing crops, nevertheless, exhibit nutrient-poor waters. Principal ions Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, and HCO₃ ^– reflect regional carbonate geology, except in Cheng Hai, which is a sodium bicarbonate lake. Specific conductance and δ¹⁸O are positively correlated, indicating that evaporation concentrates both solutes and ¹⁸O. Large, shallow lakes in southeastern Yunnan exhibit ¹⁸O-enriched waters because of substantial evaporation, whereas small, deep lakes are ¹⁸O-depleted. Lake waters are ¹⁸O-depleted in small, shallow basins that receive substantial rainwater input relative to their small volumes. ¹⁸O enrichment in Cheng Hai suggests that a recent 5-m water-level decline in this lake was caused by increased evaporation or diversion of freshwater inflow. Yunnan watersheds have undergone substantial deforestation, agricultural cultivation, soil erosion, and industrialization. Limnetic nutrient concentrations indicate that human activities have affected water quality. Organic matter content is low in sediments because of increased non-carbonate, clastic sediment yield from watersheds. Environmental policies are needed to balance ecological contraints with economic activities that impact water quality. Received: 1 July 1996 / Accepted: 2 October 1996     

An approach to hydrogeological modeling of a large system of groundwater-fed lakes and wetlands in the Nebraska Sand Hills,USA

The feasibility of a hydrogeological modeling approach to simulate several thousand shallow groundwater-fed lakes and wetlands without explicitly considering their connection with groundwater is investigated at the regional scale (~40,000 km²) through an application in the semi-arid Nebraska Sand Hills (NSH), USA. Hydraulic heads are compared to local land-surface elevations from a digital elevation model (DEM) within a geographic information system to assess locations of lakes and wetlands. The water bodies are inferred where hydraulic heads exceed, or are above a certain depth below, the land surface. Numbers of lakes and/or wetlands are determined via image cluster analysis applied to the same 30-m grid as the DEM after interpolating both simulated and estimated heads. The regional water-table map was used for groundwater model calibration, considering MODIS-based net groundwater recharge data. Resulting values of simulated total baseflow to interior streams are within 1% of observed values. Locations, areas, and numbers of simulated lakes and wetlands are compared with Landsat 2005 survey data and with areas of lakes from a 1979–1980 Landsat survey and the National Hydrography Dataset. This simplified process-based modeling approach avoids the need for field-based morphology or water-budget data from individual lakes or wetlands, or determination of lake-groundwater exchanges, yet it reproduces observed lake-wetland characteristics at regional groundwater management scales. A better understanding of the NSH hydrogeology is attained, and the approach shows promise for use in simulations of groundwater-fed lake and wetland characteristics in other large groundwater systems.     

A diatom‐inferred record of lake variability during the last 900 years in Lützow–Holm Bay,East Antarctica

Decadal–centennial‐scale climate variability in coastal Antarctica remains poorly understood due to the limited number of highly resolved, well‐dated records. We present a 900‐year, decadal‐scale reconstruction based on sedimentary diatoms from Lake Abi in Lützow–Holm Bay, East Antarctica. Hydrological change is inferred from diatom ecological preferences in conjunction with an existing regional training set and implies that lake water specific conductivity, depth and nitrogen availability are the key drivers of diatom assemblage change. Lake Abi underwent a series of subtle environmental changes related to these environmental variables, possibly driven by changes in catchment snow melt and the duration of seasonal ice cover. Ordination is used to trace the major patterns of change in the diatom community, with notable shifts identified between 470 and 400 and at ～350 cal a BP (where present = CE 1950). The frequency of environmental variability at Lake Abi is broadly consistent with a record of the Interdecadal Pacific Oscillation during the last millennium, but contrasts with the apparent climate stability elsewhere in eastern Antarctica. Further research is required to constrain the limnological and ecological responses of lakes in coastal Antarctica to obtain more rigorous palaeoclimate reconstructions from these sites of immense potential.     

沁水盆地新近纪张村组油页岩评价及古环境分析

为了深入分析油页岩发育特征对古环境的指示作用,为油页岩资源评价提供理论指导,选取沁水盆地中部新近系张村组油页岩为研究对象,采用岩石热解、有机碳测定、X射线荧光光谱仪（XRF）测试等方法分析油页岩有机地球学和元素地球化学特征,探讨沉积期的古气候和古地理环境。结果表明,张村组油页岩含油率较低,为4.15%;干酪根类型为标准腐泥型（I₁）,埋藏较浅,生烃潜力较高;样品的微量元素富集指数和地球化学参数特征显示,张村组油页岩有机质为混合来源,湖泊自身生产力提供主要物质基础;沉积期气候温暖湿润,盆地内水体由盐湖逐渐淡化,油页岩形成于水体分层不强的厌氧、深湖环境。油页岩的地球化学特征与沉积期的古气候、古地理环境具有较好耦合性。      

青藏工程走廊热融湖湖底热状态

热融湖塘对寒区环境可产生较大影响, 其侧向热侵蚀会诱发冻土工程病害.选取青藏工程走廊热融湖塘分布密集的楚玛尔河、五道梁、北麓河3个亚区, 于2009—2010年通过HOBO水位传感器对4个固定湖塘的连续监测和大量湖塘的随机观测, 探讨了不同季节、不同水深湖底的热状态.在结冰期的1月中旬, 楚玛尔河90%以上的湖塘湖底温度都在0 ℃以下, 主要与湖塘较浅和湖水高矿化度有关.五道梁和北麓河湖底温度相对较高, 只有约20%的湖底温度低于0 ℃, 这些湖水深小于最大冻结冰层厚度; 最高温度高于4 ℃, 主要与湖较深有关.但3个亚区湖底温度均随着水深增加而增加.在6~9月融冰期, 湖底温度普遍增加, 最高达到18 ℃以上, 浅湖增温快于深湖, 湖底温度随着水深增加而递减.湖底温度年际变化近似为正弦曲线, 在1~2月, 湖底温度最低, 之后逐渐升高, 到7~8月, 湖底温度达到最高.      

Long-Term Trends of Water Quality and Biotic Metrics in Chesapeake Bay: 1986 to 2008

We analyzed trends in a 23-year period of water quality and biotic data for Chesapeake Bay. Indicators were used to detect trends of improving and worsening environmental health in 15 regions and 70 segments of the bay and to assess the estuarine ecosystem’s responses to reduced nutrient loading from point (i.e., sewage treatment facilities) and non-point (e.g., agricultural and urban land use) sources. Despite extensive restoration efforts, ecological health-related water quality (chlorophyll-a, dissolved oxygen, Secchi depth) and biotic (phytoplankton and benthic indices) metrics evaluated herein have generally shown little improvement (submerged aquatic vegetation was an exception), and water clarity and chlorophyll-a have considerably worsened since 1986. Nutrient and sediment inputs from higher-than-average annual flows after 1992 combined with those from highly developed Coastal Plain areas and compromised ecosystem resiliency are important factors responsible for worsening chlorophyll-a and Secchi depth trends in mesohaline and polyhaline zones from 1986 to 2008.     

松辽盆地湖泊浅水三角洲沉积动力学研究

本文在充分利用开发检查并全井段取芯,研究沉积微相类型的基础上,结合密集开发井网的动态资料,分析了各种砂体在进间的连通性与平面上的分布规律,系统总结了地形、河流与湖泊大小、气候演化与湖面升降对湖泊浅水三角洲沉积动力学过程及其前缘砂体内部结构、沉积模式的影响作用。     

Dissolved trace elements and heavy metals from the shallow lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River region,China

Dissolved trace elements and heavy metals of waters and sediments in the ten shallow lakes in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River region were determined to identify their composition and spatial distribution, and to assess the extent of their environmentally detrimental effects by comparison with water and sediment quality guidelines. Results indicated that As and Pb were the main pollutants in lake waters and Mn and Hg the potential ones, while As, Cu and Pb were the main pollutants in lake sediments. Their spatial distribution indicated that Daye Lake was seriously polluted by metals, which was corroborated by cluster analysis. Higher concentrations of trace elements have been found in lakes downstream of the Yangtze River delta, and higher concentrations of metals have been recorded in sediments of upstream lakes, suggesting that metals in water were more sensitive to anthropogenic activities and that metals in sediment were mainly controlled by minerals. Correlation analyses demonstrated that there were stronger associations among metals in lake sediments than those in lake waters, and their good relationships suggested the common sources. Further research on the subject will help develop water quality management with the aim of restoring shallow lakes in the Yangtze River.     

Hydrogeological and thermal characterization of shallow aquifers in the plain sector of Piemonte region (NW Italy): implications for groundwater heat pumps diffusion

The low annual and seasonal variability of the shallow groundwater temperature in the alluvial plain aquifers of the Piemonte region (NW Italy) confirmed the potentiality of the low-enthalpy open-loop groundwater heat pumps (GWHP) diffusion to contribute to the reduction of regional greenhouse gas emissions. The distribution of mean groundwater temperatures ranged from a minimum of 10.3°C to a maximum of 17.9°C with a mean of 14.0°C. Differences among diverse areas were slight according with the modest variations in the general climatic condition. Like the air, temperature distribution of the shallow groundwater temperatures is generally similar to topographic elevations in reverse manner. Higher temperature values recorded were typical of summer months (June, July). On the opposite lower values were measured in January and February. No significant difference phase (time) difference between air and groundwater temperature appeared in the data analysis. Besides air-temperature influence (seasonal variability) seemed strictly connected to the depth to groundwater in the measure point and it was negligible when the value was over 9.5 m. For the application of the open-loop systems, extensive examinations of the hydrogeological local conditions should be conducted at site scale and groundwater heat transport modelling should be developed.     

Precipitation of dolomite using sulphate-reducing bacteria from the Coorong Region, South Australia: significance and implications

Dolomite was successfully precipitated in culture experiments that simulated microbiogeochemical conditions prevailing during late stages of evaporation in ephemeral, hypersaline dolomitic lakes of the Coorong region, South Australia. Analyses of lake- and pore-water samples document rapid geochemical changes with time and depth in both dolomitic and non-dolomitic lakes. Extremely high sulphate and magnesium ion concentrations in lake waters decline rapidly with depth in pore waters throughout the sulphate-reduction zone, whereas carbonate concentrations in pore waters reach levels up to 100 times those of normal sea water. Ultimately, sulphate is totally consumed and no solid sulphate is recorded in the dolomitic lake sediments. ‘Most probable number’ calculations of lake sediment samples record the presence of large populations of sulphate-reducing bacteria, whereas sulphur-isotope analyses of lake-water samples indicate microbial fractionation in all the lakes studied. Viable populations of microbes from the lake sediments were cultured in anoxic conditions in the laboratory. Samples were then injected into vials containing sterilized clastic or carbonate grains, or glass beads, immersed in a solution that simulated the lake water. Falls in the levels of sulphate and rising pH in positive vials were interpreted as indicating active bacterial sulphate reduction accompanied by increased concentrations of carbonate. Within 2 months, sub-spherical, sub-micron-size crystals of dolomite identical to those of lake sediments were precipitated. It is concluded that bacterial sulphate reduction overcomes kinetic constraints on dolomite formation by removing sulphate and releasing magnesium and calcium ions from neutral ion pairs, and by generating elevated carbonate concentrations, in a hypersaline, strongly electrolytic solution. The results demonstrate that bacterial sulphate reduction controls dolomite precipitation in both the laboratory experiments and lake sediments. It is proposed that dolomite formation, through bacterial sulphate reduction, provides a process analogue applicable to thick platformal dolostones of the past, where benthic microbial communities were the sole or dominant colonizers of shallow marine environments.