Comparative Geochemistry of Marine Saline Lakes

Abstract

Saline lakes may be classified into two groups on the basis of the primary water source for the lake. These groups are the athalassic (nonmarine) and the marine saline lakes. Athalassic saline lakes receive freshwater input and become saline owing to the high evaporation rates of the arid or semiarid climatic regions in which these lacustrine systems are predominantly found. This group of lakes includes most of the small inland salt lakes and playas, as well as larger lakes such as the Dead Sea in Israel and the Greqt Salt Lake of the United States. The second group of saline lakes is the marine lakes, which are filled primarily with water having a seawater or chemically modified seawater composition. These coastal lakes are usually of small areal extent and are found in a wide variety of climatic regions ranging from temperate to arid.