Seawater evaporite
Chemical Process (Liquid-phase Growth) - Ground Surface
Required Geological Setting
Neogene and Quaternary sediments
Occurrence
A deposit composed of evaporated residues of seawater. Seawater evaporites are formed at salt lakes and lagoons separeted from the sea, and at flat fields along seashores regularly flooded by seawater. Solid components in seawater deposit by evaporation of seawater. The mechanism is same as the salt manufacturing process at saltpans. The deposit is mainly composed of gypsum, anhydrite, halite, aragonite, and calcite. Gurhofian (Protodolomite) precipited from Mg-concentrated seawater by this process may be an origin of dolomite.
Reported Minerals
- Gypsum
- Anhydrite
- Halite