Alkaline lakes have some of the most unique and diverse known mineral assemblages as a result of their very high pH and dissolved inorganic carbon concentrations. In these closed-basin systems, aqueous geochemistry and mineralogy are intimately linked, whereby the removal of elements through mineral precipitation controls the lake water geochemistry. The resulting extreme water chemistry of alkaline lakes produces minerals that are rare in other environments, including low-temperature minerals that record valuable environmental information and that are commonly extracted as mineral resources. Alkaline lakes are also excellent environments to study various processes in mineral crystallization, growth, and transformation, including the formation of metastable phases, precipitation after extreme supersaturation, co-precipitation of minerals, and the influence of dynamic conditions.
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Research Article|
February 01, 2023
Making Salt from Water: The Unique Mineralogy of Alkaline Lakes
Maija J. Raudsepp;
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada
E-mail: raudsepp@ualberta.ca
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Sasha Wilson;
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada
E-mail: sawilson@ualberta.ca
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Bree Morgan
Geocoastal Research Group, School of Geosciences, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, 2006, Australia
E-mail: bree.morgan@sydney.edu.au
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Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada
Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2E3, Canada
Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America
First Online:
08 May 2023
Online ISSN: 1811-5217
Print ISSN: 1811-5209
Copyright © 2023 by the Mineralogical Society of America
Mineralogical Society of America
Elements (2023) 19 (1): 22–29.
Article history
First Online:
08 May 2023
Citation
Maija J. Raudsepp, Sasha Wilson, Bree Morgan; Making Salt from Water: The Unique Mineralogy of Alkaline Lakes. Elements 2023;; 19 (1): 22–29. doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.19.1.22
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