Salinization process in a topographically closed saline lake estimated by radium, barium, and chloride mass balances

Zhang, Xiaolang1,2; Jiao, Jiu Jimmy1; Li, Hailong2; Zheng, Yan2; Yang, Shouye3; Lian, Ergang3

2022-12-01

10.1016/j.jhydrol.2022.128722

JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY   Impact Factor & Quartile

0022-1694

1879-2707

Under a warming climate, many areas of the world are experiencing drier conditions, leading to the rising lake evaporation rate and salinity. The salinization of a lake, or timescale needed to evolve from historically fresh to presently saline state, is important for understanding the paleo-hydrology and lacustrine geochemical cycling. Solute loss from transport (diffusion, advection, or density flow) and mineral precipitation in lake water are usually neglected in previous studies. Here, the salinization time of a saline lake in the Badain Jaran Desert, China is estimated based on the modified mass balance models of radium, barium, and chloride of lake water by considering the transport and precipitation loss of saline lake solutes. The calculated salinization time is 8,493.7 +/- 1,559 years. The imbalance between imported solutes via groundwater discharge over the salinization time and their inventories in the present lake water suggests significant solute sinks through transport and precipitation. Specifically, sinks of barium, lithium, and strontium, have removed similar to 10-100 times of the present-day inventories dissolved in lake water. These findings can guide the investigation of salinization processes in other saline lakes of similar hydrological and hydrogeological settings.

Lake salinization Groundwater-fed lake Evaporation topographically closed lake

SCI

English

Others

[41572208] ; [HKU 17304815]

Engineering ; Geology ; Water Resources

Engineering, Civil ; Geosciences, Multidisciplinary ; Water Resources

WOS:000895770900003

ELSEVIER

ENGINEERING

Web of Science

1.Univ Hong Kong, Dept Earth Sci, Hong Kong, Peoples R China
2.Southern Univ Sci & Technol, Sch Environm Sci & Engn, Shenzhen, Peoples R China
3.Tongji Univ, State Key Lab Marine Geol, Shanghai, Peoples R China

Zhang, Xiaolang,Jiao, Jiu Jimmy,Li, Hailong,et al. Salinization process in a topographically closed saline lake estimated by radium, barium, and chloride mass balances[J]. JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY,2022,615.

Zhang, Xiaolang,Jiao, Jiu Jimmy,Li, Hailong,Zheng, Yan,Yang, Shouye,&Lian, Ergang.(2022).Salinization process in a topographically closed saline lake estimated by radium, barium, and chloride mass balances.JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY,615.

Zhang, Xiaolang,et al."Salinization process in a topographically closed saline lake estimated by radium, barium, and chloride mass balances".JOURNAL OF HYDROLOGY 615(2022).