Article
Article
Saline evaporite
Article By:
Warren, John National Center for Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Adelaide, Australia.
Last reviewed:January 2020
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1036/1097-8542.598800
A deposit of bedded sedimentary rocks composed of salts precipitated during solar evaporation of surface or near-surface brines derived from seawater or continental waters. Dominant minerals in ancient evaporite beds are anhydrite (along with varying amounts of gypsum) and halite, which make up more than 85% of the total sedimentary evaporite salts. Many other salts make up the remaining 15% (Table 1); their varying proportions in particular beds can be diagnostic of the original source of the mother brine. See also: Anhydrite; Evaporation; Gypsum; Halite; Salt (chemistry); Seawater; Sedimentary rocks
The content above is only an excerpt.
About AccessScience
AccessScience provides the most accurate and trustworthy scientific information available.
Recognized as an award-winning gateway to scientific knowledge, AccessScience is an amazing online resource that contains high-quality reference material written specifically for students. Contributors include more than 10,000 highly qualified scientists and 46 Nobel Prize winners.
MORE THAN 8700 articles covering all major scientific disciplines and encompassing the McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science & Technology and McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science & Technology
115,000-PLUS definitions from the McGraw-Hill Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Terms
3000 biographies of notable scientific figures
MORE THAN 19,000 downloadable images and animations illustrating key topics
ENGAGING VIDEOS highlighting the life and work of award-winning scientists
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER STUDY and additional readings to guide students to deeper understanding and research
LINKS TO CITABLE LITERATURE help students expand their knowledge using primary sources of information
