{"title":"Dry, Salty, and Habitable: The Science of Alkaline Lakes","authors":"B. Tutolo, N. Tosca","doi":"10.2138/gselements.19.1.10","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"Alkaline lakes are incredibly dynamic, unique, and fascinating biogeo-chemical environments that have remained distinctive features of Earth’s evolving surface over much of its history. Understanding these evaporative surface waters, their exceptionally productive ecosystems, and their rare sedimentary deposits requires an inherently interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of hydrology, geology, and biology. The discipline-spanning articles in this issue evaluate the diverse characteristics that make these dry, salty, and habitable environments so valuable in unraveling the history and evolution of Earth’s surface, and in following the arc of habitability on ancient Mars. Here, in this introductory article, we summarize the characteristics and importance of alkaline lakes with the hope of attracting you, too, to join in our fascination with them.","PeriodicalId":11643,"journal":{"name":"Elements","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":2.2000,"publicationDate":"2023-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Elements","FirstCategoryId":"89","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.19.1.10","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"地球科学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GEOCHEMISTRY & GEOPHYSICS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Alkaline lakes are incredibly dynamic, unique, and fascinating biogeo-chemical environments that have remained distinctive features of Earth’s evolving surface over much of its history. Understanding these evaporative surface waters, their exceptionally productive ecosystems, and their rare sedimentary deposits requires an inherently interdisciplinary approach at the intersection of hydrology, geology, and biology. The discipline-spanning articles in this issue evaluate the diverse characteristics that make these dry, salty, and habitable environments so valuable in unraveling the history and evolution of Earth’s surface, and in following the arc of habitability on ancient Mars. Here, in this introductory article, we summarize the characteristics and importance of alkaline lakes with the hope of attracting you, too, to join in our fascination with them.
期刊介绍:
Elements is an international magazine of mineralogy, petrology, and geochemistry.
Published bimonthly, every issue explores a theme of broad and current interest. Elements publishes invited peer-reviewed articles for each thematic collection of papers. Topics of interest can be proposed to the editors who will review every proposal submitted.
Elements also presents regular features including a opinion articles, calendar of events, short course announcements, awards, conference reports, policy news, as well as news of the 18 participating societies.