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The fluid inclusion composition of halite can help track chemical composition of ancient fluids and, thus, serves as a reliable index to analyze ancient brine in salt lakes. Qarhan Salt Lake (QSL) is the largest potash brine deposit in China. Although the mixing of modern river water and Ca-Cl deep water is widely accepted as potassium formation, the mixing characteristics in the time domain and driving factors of deep water are still unclear. Here, the chemical composition of fluid inclusions in primary halite samples collected from the ISL1A borehole in QSL was measured by LA-ICP-MS technology. The analysis results show that, during the formation stage of the S4 salt layer in QSL, the main potassium salt layer, the contents of Ca2+ and Sr2+ in brine increased significantly. There is evidence confirming that Ca-Cl deep water is beneficial to the enrichment of potassium and the surrounding rivers generally develop terraces. It suggests that, during the formation stage of the QSL potassium salt layer, more Ca-Cl inflow water of the northern margin supplies the salt lake, inferring that it was driven by tectonic activities. In addition, the chemical composition of halite fluid inclusions shows that there is an anomaly in geochemistry at the early stage of salt formation in QSL. By combining the time of tectonic activities, it is inferred that the anomaly is not caused by tectonic activities but maybe caused by a salt-forming event. This work indicates that deep water and tectonic movement have a huge impact on the evolution of salt lakes. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the influence of deep water and tectonic activities on the salt-forming evolution stage of salt lakes when studying the salt-forming evolution stage of salt lakes and paleoclimate by using salt lake deposition.

Qarhan Salt Lake (QSL) is the largest potash brine deposit in the continental Qaidam Basin (QB) of western China. The origins of the Qarhan brines, whether from migration of Qaidam mega-paleolakes, paleoriver capture, or mixing of modern river water and Ca-Cl spring water, are controversial. Details about the origin (hydrothermal, diagenetic or both) of the Ca-Cl inflow waters entering QSL in the QB are unclear. Here we show from the strontium (Sr) isotope ratios of river waters, intercrystalline brines, spring waters, halite, gypsum, and Corbicula shells from Qarhan playa, that 87Sr/86Sr increases from Bieletan (western QSL) to Huobuxun (eastern QSL). This trend verifies that river water-spring water mixing has been operating at QSL for the past 50,000 years. Contributions of Ca-Cl inflow waters to the QB have profoundly influenced the brine evolution and mineralogy of salt deposits. Mixing between low Sr2+ concentration, low 87Sr/86Sr value of river waters and high Sr2+ concentration, high 87Sr/86Sr value of Ca-Cl spring inflow waters has produced various intercrystalline brines and salt deposits at QSL. Ca-Cl inflow waters and brines are enriched in Sr2+ and Ca2+ and depleted in Mg2+ and SO42−. These characteristics suggest brine-sedimentary rock (silicate) interactions at burial diagenetic or hydrothermal conditions. Ca-Cl inflow waters and brines have a similar Sr isotopic range as oilfield brines and celestite deposits in the QB, which also suggests a diagenetic-hydrothermal origin. Ca-Cl brines discharge as springs or seeps along fault zones in the QB. They are interpreted to reach the surface of the northern margin of Qarhan playa by topographically driven circulation.

At the Qarhan Salt Lake (QSL) on the central-eastern Qaidam Basin, northern Tibetan Plateau, Quaternary lacustrine sediments have a thickness of over 3000 m and mainly composed of organic-rich clay and silty clay with some silt halite and halite. In this study, a 102-m-long sediment core (ISL1A) was obtained from the QSL. Combining with AMS 14C and 230Th dating, clay minerals and major-element concentrations of ISL1A were used to reconstruct the weathering process and trend of the QSL since late Pleistocene. The results reveal that the clay mineral from

The relationship between sylvinite (KCl + NaCl) and carnallite (KCl·MgCl 2 ·6H 2 O) is important in potash mines containing carnallite, and especially where sylvinite overlies carnallite. It is generally believed that this reversal of the normal depositional sequence may be caused by dissolution of carnallite. To obtain sylvite (KCl) from carnallite ore in the present study, first carnallite ore dissolution was performed in an aqueous solution at 25 °C, and then the sylvite was separated from halite (NaCl) in the sylvinite by a flotation method. The Br and Rb concentrations in the sylvite derived from the carnallite ore were determined. The results showed that more than 4/5th of the Br and Rb in the carnallite ore transferred to the mother liquor, while the remainder of the Br and Rb was in the sylvinite. The sylvite separated from this sylvinite had purity of 94–96%. In the sylvite derived from carnallite, the Br concentration was obviously lower (by an order of magnitude) than the concentration in primary sylvite from evaporation of MgSO 4 -deficient sea water, and the Rb concentration was twice that in primary sylvite from evaporation of MgSO 4 -deficient sea water. Compared to the Br and Rb concentrations in secondary sylvite from Khorat Plateau, Sergipe, and Prairie evaporites, the concentrations in the sylvite derived from carnallite ore were similar. The redistribution of Br and Rb in the form of secondary sylvite was in a relative stable proportion according to the comparison of Br and Rb. The lower Br and higher Rb concentrations in sylvite derived from carnallite ore could be caused by KCl re-crystallization and redistribution of Br and Rb between the solid and liquid phases. The driving force behind changes in the partition coefficients of Br and Rb is that the dissolution of carnallite is much slower than the nucleation of KCl.

This study presents chlorine isotopic composition of salt deposits recovered in a core from the Qarhan Saline Lake in the Qinghai Province of China. The δ 37 Cl trend has three stages, and they correspond to the upper, middle, and lower salt-bearing groups of the entire evaporite system. The δ 37 Cl values are between −0.22‰ and 0.13‰ with an average value of −0.02‰ in the lower salt-bearing group. It ranges between 0.14‰ and 0.76‰ ( x ¯ = 0.36‰) in the middle salt-bearing group, and varies between −0.35‰ to 0.35‰ ( x ¯ = −0.04‰) in the upper salt-bearing group. This work indicates that stratification of δ 37 Cl values is accompanied by stratigraphic variations in Mg/Cl and K/Cl in halite. We suggest a “evaporation cycles model” and it indicates the potential of Cl isotope as a geochemical tracer in order to understand paleoclimatic conditions during different stages of evaporite deposition.

Drill core (ISL1A) was obtained from the Qarhan Salt Lake in central eastern Qaidam Basin, northeastern Tibetan Plateau (NE TP). Fossil pollen and the lithology of the core sediment were analyzed in conjunction with AMS C-14 and Th-230 dating. The results indicated that Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae dominated the steppe/desert steppe vegetation developed around the lake between 94 and 51.2 ka, corresponding with the organic-rich silty clay deposited in the core sediments. Pediastrum continuously appeared in the core sediments between 94 and 51.2 ka, indicating freshwater to oligohaline conditions of the paleo-Qarhan Lake during the late marine isotope stage (MIS) 5, MIS 4, and early MIS 3. During the 51.2 to 32.5 ka period, Ephedra dominated shrub-desert vegetation expanded in the basin, while, Pediastrum disappeared in the core sediments. The core sediments consisted of interbedded layers of halite silt and clay-rich halite between 51.2 and 32.5 ka, signifying a shift toward drier hydrologic conditions. Thus, the paleo-Qarhan Lake experienced periods of desiccation and shallow water levels. Artemisia and Chenopodiaceae dominated steppe/desert steppe vegetation appeared again from 32.5 to 253 ka, with clay-rich sediments in the core, thereby suggesting an increase of runoff from the lake under relatively wetter climatic conditions. Since 253 ka, however, pollen concentrations declined, corresponding with the amount of halite deposited in the core sediment and, suggesting a cold, dry climatic condition during MIS2. Our findings have important implications for understanding complex regional vegetation and climatic responses to large-scale forcings in the Qaidam Basin. (C) 2015 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

In order to better understand chlorine isotopic variations during brine evolution, experiments were designed to determine the changes in the chlorine isotope composition (δ37Cl value) during evaporations of solutions containing NaCl, KCl and MgCl2⋅6H2O at 28 ± 2 °C. Three evaporation experiments were conducted in a clean environment. The precipitate and brine samples were collected during the evaporation, and the chlorine isotopic ratios of the samples were determined using an improved thermal ionisation mass spectrometry procedure based on Cs2Cl+ ion measurement. The results are as follows: the mean fractionation factors of the three solutions are αNa = 1.00055, αK = 1.00025, and αMg = 1.00012, respectively, where αNa, αK and αMg are the fractionation factors between salts (NaCl, KCl and MgCl2⋅6H2O) and saturated solutions. The results showed that the δ37Cl values of precipitate and coexisting brine samples decrease during the precipitation of single chloride minerals. The residual brine was a 35Cl reservoir for different single chloride solutions. New chlorine isotopic evolution curve during seawater evaporation were also calculated. The results indicated that during the primary precipitation stage of halite, δ37Cl decreased continuously, and the most important thing is that this trend continues during the final stages when Mg–salts begin to precipitate.

The age framework of Qarhan Salt Lake in arid western China is still controversial due in part to (1) age discrepancy between conventional 14C and 230Th dating results, and (2) no AMS 14C ages of organic carbon from drilling cores in Qarhan Salt Lake were reported until now. In order to discuss these chronological problems, upper 54.50 m lacustrine sediments from a drilling core (ISL1A) recovered from Qarhan Salt Lake were dated based on 230Th and AMS 14C dating techniques. Results show that (1) AMS 14C ages of total organic carbon (TOC) from 4.65 to 30.29 m are almost in stratigraphic order and consistent with 230Th ages of halite in the corresponding layers; (2) AMS 14C ages of TOC from 30.29 to 54.50 m are younger with increasing depth. This phenomenon was also found in Shell Bar in the study area, suggesting that AMS 14C ages from upper 30.29 m are more reliable while those from lower 24.21 m in ISL1A may be underestimated; (3) 230Th ages of halite from lower 24 m lacustrine sediments are obviously older than AMS 14C ages of TOC in the corresponding layers, which results into different age framework of salt lake sediments in Qarhan Salt Lake; (4) if extrapolating these reliable AMS 14C ages in ISL1A, similar age framework with 230Th ages in this core confirms that 230Th ages are much close to the true ages of these sediments, which suggests that the forming timing of the bottom salt layer is ~50 ka.

The evaporites on the Khorat Plateau comprise one of the largest potash deposits in the world, and their origin has long been a controversial problem. Based on boron isotope measurements from borate as a good indicator to distinguish marine and nonmarine evaporites, the borates of potash layers were identified and the results were used to indicate the source of evaporites in the study area as representative of the whole Khorat Plateau. The results show that the main borates include boracite and hilgardite. The boracites occur as crystals and ooids with minor amounts of hilgardite aggregates. The range of δ11B values is from +21.30‰ to +32.94‰ (averaging +29.74‰) and falls in the range of marine borates. The δ11B values in the potash layer are seemingly variable because of the influence of fluvial influx when salts were precipitating. Although the composition of seawater has possibly been modified, the evidence from boron isotopic composition implies that the evaporites in the study area or in the whole Khorat Plateau are marine deposits.

Brine from the saline Qarhan Lake was evaporated at 28±2°C in a clean environment. Two groups of experiments were conducted; one with complete separation of precipitate and brine at different stages of evaporation, and the other with continuous precipitation during the evaporation. Seventy-nine precipitate and brine samples were collected during the experiments, and the δ 37Cl values were determined using an improved thermal ionization mass spectrometry procedure for precise measurement of chlorine isotopes based on Cs2Cl+ ions. Based on the concentrations of Na+, K+, and Mg2+, evaporation was divided into three main precipitation stages as follows: halite dominant, carnallite dominant, and bischofite dominant. The δ 37Clsolid and δ 37Clliquid values of the precipitate and coexisting brine samples at different stages showed the following characteristics. The precipitates were enriched with 37Cl relative to the coexisting brine samples, and the δ 37Cl of both the precipitate and brine samples decreased gradually during evaporation. The fractionation factors (α h) between halite and brine were the highest, followed by that (α c) between carnallite and brine, and then that (α b) between bischofite and brine. The α c and α b values of less than one, which indicate the precipitate is enriched in 35Cl, were found when the evaporation process entered a new stage. However, the δ 37Cl values of carnallite, bischofite, and the coexisting brine samples decreased during evaporation. The residual brine is a 35Cl reservoir. The experimental phenomena were consistent with the δ 37Cl values in saline deposits in the literature. δ 37Cl can be used as an indicator of brine evaporation processes, which is important in the exploration of sylvinite deposits.

Chemistry of major and minor elements, 87Sr/86Sr, δD, δ18O and δ34S of brines were measured from Tertiary strata and Quaternary salt lakes in the western Qaidam Basin. The water chemistry data show that all oilfield brines are CaCl2 type. They were enriched in Ca2+, B3+, Li+, Sr2+, Br−, and were depleted in Mg2+, SO42−, which indicated that these brines had the characteristics of deeply circulated water. The relationship between δD and δ18O shows that all data of these brines decline towards the Global Meteoric Water Line (GWL) and Qaidam Meteoric Water Line (QWL), and that the intersection between oilfield brines and Meteoric Water Lines was close to the local spring and fresh water in the piedmont in the western Qaidam Basin. The results suggest that oilfield brines has initially originated from meteoric water, and then might be affected by water-rock metamorphose, because most oilfield brines distribute in the range of metamorphosing water. The 87Sr/86Sr values of most oilfield brines range from 0.71121 to 0.71194, and was less than that in salt lake water (>0.712), but close to that of halite in the study area. These imply that salt dissolution occurred in the process of migration. In addition, all oilfield brines have obviously much positive δ34S values (ranging from 26.46‰ to 54.57‰) than that of salt lake brines, which was caused by bacterial sulfate reduction resulting in positive shift of δ34S value and depleteed SO42− in oilfield brines. Combined with water chemical data and δD, δ18O, 87Sr/86Sr, δ34S values, we concluded that oilfield brines mainly originate from the deeply circulated meteoric waters, and then are affected by salt dissolution, water-rock metamorphose, sulfate reduction and dolomitization during the process of migration. These processes alter the chemical compositions of oilfield brines and accumulate rich elements (such as B, Li, Sr, Br, K and so on) for sustainable utilization of salt lake resources in the Qaidam Basin.

Since 2006, we have conducted a geological exploration of the Khammuane area in southeastern Laos. Several thick sequences of potash deposits containing sylvite and carnallite were discovered from drilling Paleocene strata of the Thangon Formation (E1 tg). To constrain the origin of the brine that formed thick sequences of salt mineral deposits, we measured the strontium and boron isotope composition of some salt minerals in the potash deposit. Boron isotope composition of halite- and potash-associated minerals in the Khammuane potash deposit varied from 19.91% to 31.01‰, which differs significantly from continental evaporates (−6.83‰–−5.79‰) but is very close to that of salts precipitated from evapo-concentrated seawater (10‰–36‰). The 87Sr/86Sr ratios (0.707542 to 0.709461) of salts were also close to the values of Paleocene seawater (0.70772 to 0.707830). The content of Br− (0.01%–0.25%) and Br×103/Cl ratios (0.10–0.52) of halite were >10 times higher than that of common continental salts. These characteristics indicate clearly that the Laos potash deposits were deposited from seawater. The small variation in boron and strontium isotopes in all salt sedimentary sequences (gypsum-halite-potash-halite) also suggests that the recharge source should be stable and the effects of other continental water mixing are negligible. Large-scale potash deposits are commonly precipitated from seawater. Hence, the results of recent regional drilling work and geochemical research suggest extensive potash resources could occur in the Thangon Formation of southeastern Laos.