How near-surface evaporation, temperature and brine movement control halite, gypsum and carnallite precipitation in saline systems.
Category Scientific Salt Research
Featured Articles
The geochemical logic behind enrichment of K, Mg, Li and other elements in residual brines after halite precipitation.
USGS explanation of caves, subsidence and sinkholes produced by dissolution of highly soluble halite and gypsum.
How dissolution of older evaporites can create NaCl- and CaSO4-rich brines and feed later mineral precipitation.
A synthesis of the full evaporite-basin lifecycle from restricted seawater inflow through gypsum, halite and potash precipitation to later dissolution and karst.
The development of the thick dolomite, gypsum/anhydrite, halite and potash succession in the southwestern US Permian Basin.
A USGS strontium-isotope test of whether Castile Formation evaporites were derived mainly from seawater or strongly mixed continental waters.
An explanation of the typical gypsum/anhydrite, halite and sylvite-potash precipitation sequence in marine evaporite systems.
Why thick rock-salt and gypsum successions generally require repeated replenishment rather than a single isolated sea drying once.
How USGS interpretations of Castile and Salado evaporites explain gypsum and halite forming under different hydrologic conditions.
The 2023 reconstruction of seawater strontium from 1,371 fluid inclusions in 131 halite samples.
Testing fluid-inclusion analytical methods with laboratory-grown halite in NaCl-KCl-MgCl2-CaCl2 brine systems.
Strontium in 1,371 Halite Fluid Inclusions: 550 Million Years of Seawater Change
The 2023 reconstruction of seawater strontium from 1,371 fluid inclusions in 131 halite samples.
How Are Halite Fluid Inclusions Calibrated in the Laboratory? Melting Behavior and Brine Systems
Testing fluid-inclusion analytical methods with laboratory-grown halite in NaCl-KCl-MgCl2-CaCl2 brine systems.
Why Is Halite a Chemical Archive of Ancient Oceans? A 550-Million-Year Record from Fluid Inclusions
A synthesis of modern, Silurian, Permian, Cretaceous and Neoproterozoic halite studies explaining why halite is a powerful archive of paleoseawater chemistry.
Who Is Prof. Tim K. Lowenstein? Halite Fluid Inclusions, Paleoseawater and Evaporite Geochemistry
A sourced profile of Tim K. Lowenstein’s research on halite fluid inclusions, ancient seawater chemistry and evaporite geochemistry.
Do Halite Fluid Inclusions Really Record Seawater? The 2001 Great Inagua and Baja California Test
The 2001 validation of paleoseawater reconstruction by comparing modern marine and nonmarine halite fluid inclusions.
How Is Ancient Seawater Reconstructed from Halite Fluid Inclusions? The Three-Step Method
The analytical, provenance-validation and thermodynamic back-calculation steps used to reconstruct paleoseawater from halite fluid inclusions.
What Was Silurian Seawater Like? Major-Ion Chemistry from 100 Halite Fluid Inclusions
The Brennan and Lowenstein 2002 reconstruction of Silurian seawater from 100 inclusions in Michigan and Canning Basin halites.
Permian Seawater Chemistry: Fluid-Inclusion Evidence from Texas, New Mexico and European Halites
The 2005 Lowenstein study reconstructing Permian seawater major-ion chemistry from halite fluid inclusions.
Why Was Cretaceous Seawater Different? Chemical Records from Brazilian, Congo and Thai Halites
The 2006 reconstruction of calcium-rich, sulfate-poor Cretaceous seawater from halite fluid inclusions.
Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian Seawater: Evidence from Halites in Pakistan, Australia and Siberia
Early-ocean chemistry records from halite fluid inclusions in Pakistan’s Salt Range, Australia’s Amadeus Basin and Siberian evaporites.