Before ancient seawater can be reconstructed from halite fluid inclusions, researchers must show that modern halite actually preserves the chemical signature of evaporating seawater. That was the central objective of the 2001 study.
You can explore related material in the Rock Salt Chemistry section.
Great Inagua and Baja California
Researchers analysed halites from the Great Inagua solar saltwork in the Bahamas and a supratidal sabkha in Baja California.
Relationships among major ions such as Na, K, sulfate, Mg and Cl broadly followed predicted modern-seawater evaporation paths.
Qaidam Basin Control
Nonmarine halites from the Qaidam Basin in western China showed a clearly different chemical signature from evaporated modern seawater.
The comparison demonstrated that marine and nonmarine parent waters can be distinguished.
Foundation of the Paleoseawater Method
By showing that modern marine halite preserves a recognisable evaporated-seawater signature, the study supported use of ancient halites for paleoseawater reconstruction.
Researchers still need to test for nonmarine inflow and syndepositional recycling of earlier salts.
Related article: How Do Halite Fluid Inclusions Record Ancient Seawater?.
Sources
- Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 2001 – Evaluating seawater chemistry from fluid inclusions in halite
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