Brine lake
Encyclopedia
Brine lakes consist of water that has reached salt saturation or near saturation (brine
), and may also be heavily saturated with other materials.
Most brine lakes develop as a result of high evaporation rates in an arid
climate with a lack of an outlet to the ocean. The high salt content in these bodies of water may come from minerals deposited from the surrounding land. Another source for the salt may be that the body of water was formerly connected to the ocean. While the water evaporates from the lake, the salt remains. Eventually, the body of water will become brine.
Because of the density of brine, swimmers are more buoyant
in brine than in fresh or ordinary salt water. Examples of such brine lakes are the Dead Sea
and the Great Salt Lake
.
Bodies of brine may also form on the ocean floor at cold seep
s. These are sometimes called brine lakes, but are more frequently referred to as brine pool
s. It is possible to observe waves on the surface of these bodies.
Man-made bodies of brine are created for edible salt production. These can be referred to as brine ponds.
Brine
Brine is water, saturated or nearly saturated with salt .Brine is used to preserve vegetables, fruit, fish, and meat, in a process known as brining . Brine is also commonly used to age Halloumi and Feta cheeses, or for pickling foodstuffs, as a means of preserving them...
), and may also be heavily saturated with other materials.
Most brine lakes develop as a result of high evaporation rates in an arid
Arid
A region is said to be arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or even preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life...
climate with a lack of an outlet to the ocean. The high salt content in these bodies of water may come from minerals deposited from the surrounding land. Another source for the salt may be that the body of water was formerly connected to the ocean. While the water evaporates from the lake, the salt remains. Eventually, the body of water will become brine.
Because of the density of brine, swimmers are more buoyant
Buoyancy
In physics, buoyancy is a force exerted by a fluid that opposes an object's weight. In a column of fluid, pressure increases with depth as a result of the weight of the overlying fluid. Thus a column of fluid, or an object submerged in the fluid, experiences greater pressure at the bottom of the...
in brine than in fresh or ordinary salt water. Examples of such brine lakes are the Dead Sea
Dead Sea
The Dead Sea , also called the Salt Sea, is a salt lake bordering Jordan to the east and Israel and the West Bank to the west. Its surface and shores are below sea level, the lowest elevation on the Earth's surface. The Dead Sea is deep, the deepest hypersaline lake in the world...
and the Great Salt Lake
Great Salt Lake
The Great Salt Lake, located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Utah, is the largest salt water lake in the western hemisphere, the fourth-largest terminal lake in the world. In an average year the lake covers an area of around , but the lake's size fluctuates substantially due to its...
.
Bodies of brine may also form on the ocean floor at cold seep
Cold seep
A cold seep is an area of the ocean floor where hydrogen sulfide, methane and other hydrocarbon-rich fluid seepage occurs, often in the form of a brine pool...
s. These are sometimes called brine lakes, but are more frequently referred to as brine pool
Brine pool
Brine pools are large areas of brine on the ocean basin. These pools are bodies of water that have a salinity three to five times greater than the surrounding ocean. For deep-sea brine pools, the source of the salt is the dissolution of large salt deposits through salt tectonics...
s. It is possible to observe waves on the surface of these bodies.
Man-made bodies of brine are created for edible salt production. These can be referred to as brine ponds.