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It is widely accepted that hydrogeochemistry of saline springs is extremely important to understand the water circulation and evolution of saline basins and to evaluate the potential of potassiumrich evaporites. The Kuqa Basin, located in the northern part of the Tarim Basin in Northwest China, is a saline basin regarded as the most potential potash-seeking area. However, the origin and water circulation processes of saline springs have yet to be fully characterized in this saline basin. In this study, a total of 30 saline spring samples and 11 river water samples were collected from the Qiulitage Structural Belt (QSB) of the Kuqa Basin. They were analyzed for major (K+, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, SO42−, Cl− and HCO3−) and trace (Sr2+ and Br−) ion concentrations, stable H-O-Sr isotopes and tritium concentrations in combination with previously published hydrogeochemical and isotopic (H-O) data in the same area. It is found that the water chemical type of saline springs in the study area belonged to the Na-Cl type, and that of river water belonged to the Ca-Mg-HCO3-SO4 type. The total dissolved solid (TDS) of saline springs in the QSB ranged from 117.77 to 314.92 g/L, reaching the brine level. On the basis of the general chemical compositions and the characteristics of the stable H-O-Sr isotopes of saline springs, we infer that those saline springs mainly originated from precipitation following river water recharging. In addition, we found that saline springs were not formed by evapo-concentration because it is unlikely that the high chloride concentration of saline springs resulted in evapo-concentration and high salinity. Therefore, we conclude that saline spring water may have experienced intense evapo-concentration before dissolving the salty minerals or after returning to the surface. The results show that the origin of salinity was mainly dominated by dissolving salty minerals due to the river water and/or precipitation that passed through the halite-rich stratum. Moreover, there are two possible origins of saline springs in the QSB: one is the infiltration of the meteoric water (river water), which then circulates deep into the earth, wherein it dissolves salty minerals, travels along the fault and returns to the surface; another is the mixture of formation water, or the mixture of seawater or marine evaporate sources and its subsequent discharge to the surface under fault conditions. Our findings provide new insight into the possible saltwater circulation and evolution of saline basins in the Tarim Basin.

Late Cretaceous evaporite in the Khorat Plateau (KP) is one of the largest potash deposits in the world. Previous researches reported that the origin of potash deposits in the KP is controversial; however, recent studies emphasized non-marine fluids (hydrothermal fluid or meteoric water) influenced geochemical behaviors of potash deposits. Eleven halite samples from halite and potash layers in a drilling core (NS007) in southwestern KP were collected and analyzed for δ37Cl values, Br− and Cl− concentrations in this study. The results show that (1) low δ37Cl values (− 1.31‰ ~ + 0.14‰) of halite from halite layer, combining with reported isotopic (δD and δ18O) values of fluid inclusions in halite in corresponding layer, suggest possible influence of hydrothermal fluid; (2) positive correlation between δ37Cl values and Br × 103/Cl ratios, high δ37Cl values (− 0.48‰ ~ + 0.41‰) and previous high 87Sr/86Sr values of halite from potash layer indicate meteoric water inputs into this layer. These comparisons demonstrate that hydrothermal or meteoric waters (non-marine fluids) influenced potash deposits in northeastern Thailand.