Letter
Gaylussite formation at mono lake, california

https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(91)90144-TGet rights and content

Abstract

The salinity of Mono Lake has steadily increased since 1941 from 50%. to about 90%. due to diversion of tributary streams. This increase has resulted in the newly discovered precipitation of gaylussite (Na2Ca(CO3)2 · 5H2O). Chemical modeling of the lake water using Pitzer equations suggests that gaylussite has been forming year round since about 1970 when the salinity first exceeded 80%., and that it was earlier forming intermittently at lower salinities in the winter shortly after diversion began, breaking down incongruently to aragonite during summers. Lake water appears to remain at a constant 9-fold supersaturation with aragonite at all salinities, perhaps buffered by monohydrocalcite which appears to be just at saturation for all salinities. Other saline lakes also appear to be buffered by monohydrocalcite.

References (22)

  • J.L. Domagalski et al.

    Trace metal geochemistry of Walker, Mono, and Great Salt Lakes

  • Cited by (49)

    • Origin and enrichment of borates in a Late Paleozoic alkaline lake-playa deposit, Junggar Basin, NW China

      2021, Ore Geology Reviews
      Citation Excerpt :

      1) The boron concentrations of the paleolake in the Mahu Sag were high, but still not high enough to reach the saturation of any borate mineral. This situation is similar to the modern Mono Lake, California, whose boron concentration has been observed to increase by 9 folds when lake salinity increased to reach the saturation of gaylussite [Na2Ca(CO3)2·5(H2O)], but no borate mineral precipitated (Bischoff et al., 1991). 2) There were primary borate precipitates and early diagenetic borate minerals in the FC Fm, but they were later dissolved during bury.

    • Geochemical evidence for arsenic cycling in living microbialites of a High Altitude Andean Lake (Laguna Diamante, Argentina)

      2020, Chemical Geology
      Citation Excerpt :

      PXRD analyses showed that calcite is the main phase and gaylussite (Na2Ca(CO3)2 ‐ ∙5 H2O), phyllosilicates and quartz occur as secondary phases (Fig. S1). Gaylussite, which corresponds to the pink layer, covers the tubular structure of the microbialites and is likely formed through efflorescence from the alkaline (9–10 pH) lacustrine water, similar to those found in lake Magadi, in Kenia (pH > 9.5, Jones et al. (1977)) and Mono Lake, in USA (pH > 9.5(Bischoff et al., 1991)). Importantly, no traces of this mineral are found inside the microbialites.

    • Paleoproduction and environmental change at Mono Lake (eastern Sierra Nevada) during the Pleistocene-Holocene transition

      2020, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Today, Mono Lake covers ~160 km2, averages ~17 m deep, and has a shoreline elevation of ~1945 m a.s.l. (Jellison and Melack, 1993b). The lake is highly saline (87‰), alkaline (pH = 10.0), and its ion chemistry is dominated by Na+, HCO3−, CO32−, Cl−, and SO42− (Bischoff et al., 1991). Mono Lake is a warm monomictic lake that does not fully freeze over in the winter.

    View all citing articles on Scopus
    View full text