Investigation of element distribution between components of a salt-lake system by SR-XRF

Numerous bitter lakes, largely closed and shallow, are concentrated in a small area of the South of Western Siberia (Kulunda and Barabinsk steppes). Most lakes are marked by the development of thick black or grayish blue silt organogenic sediments formed due to the dying-off of local halophilic organisms. Salt lakes are of great interest for scientists. The investigation was conducted in the context of complex biological and biochemical studies aimed at identifying regularities in the redistribution of elements between components of a salt-lake system by SR-XRF (Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Fluorescence).