China Qaidam

Besides the oceans, there are vast reserves of magnesium chloride in the Dead Sea Qaidam Basin, China and many salars of South America. 

Metivier F, Gaudemer Y, Tapponnier P, Meyer B (1998) Northeastward growth of the Tibet plateau deduced from balanced reconstruction of two depositional areas The Qaidam and Hexi Corridor, China. Tectonics 17(6) 823-842... 

Yang J. S., Xu Z., Song S., Zhang J., Shi R., Li H., and Brunei M. (2001) Discovery of coesite in the North Qaidam Early Paleozoic ultrahigh pressure (UHP) metamorphic belt, NW China. Comptes Rendus de VAcademic des Sciences, Paris, Sciences de la Terre et des Planets 333, 719-724. 

Duan Z. and Hu W. (2001) The accumulation of potash in a continental basin the example of the Qarhan Saline Lake, Qaidam Basin, West China. Euro. J. Mineral. 13, 1223-1233. 

Spencer R. J., Lowenstein T. K., Casas E., and Pengxi Z. (1990) Origin of potash salts and brines in the Qaidam Basin, China. In Fluid—Mineral Interactions A Tribute to H. P. Eugster (eds. R. J. Spencer and I.-M. Chou). Geochemical Society, San Antonio, pp. 395-408. 

Vengosh A., Chivas A. R., Starinsky A., Kolodny Y., Baozhen Z., and Pengxi Z. (1995) Chemical and boron isotope compositions of non-marine brines from the Qaidam Basin, Qinghai, China. Chem. Geol. 120, 135-154. 

D2. Multiple-cycle weathering, including particularly dissolution of earlier marine or terrestrial evaporites (e.g. modem Qaidam Basin, China and Chott el Djerid, Tunisia), both of which are nested above earlier terrestrial evaporite basins)... 

Chen, K. Bowler, J.M. (1986) Late Pleistocene evolution of salt lakes in the Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province, China. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatobgy, Palaeoecobgy 54, 87-104. 

Lowenstein, T.K., Spencer, R.J. Zhang, P. (1989) Origin of ancient potash evaporites Clues from the modern nonmarine Qaidam basin of western China. 

Schubel, K.A. Lowenstein, T.K. (1997) Criteria for the recognition of shallow-perennial-saline-lake halites based on recent sediments from Qaidam Basin, western China. Journal of Sedimentary Research 67, 74-87. 

D) Halite crust, Dabuxan Lake, Qaidam Basin, China. Distribution of areas without surface drainage and with interior basin (or endorheic) drainage. 

Tuo, J. Philp, R. P. 2003. Occurrence and distribution of high molecular weight hydrocarbons in selected non-marine source rocks from Liaohe, Qaidam and Tarim Basins, China. Organic Geochemistry, in press. 

In order to use fluid inclusions from lacustrine halites for detailed paleoclimate interpretations, it is important to have air temperature and water temperature records from the study area. The modern records serve as the reference against which fluid inclusion homogenization temperatures are compared. Information on the temperatures of saline lakes in Africa and Canada may be found in Hammer (1986). Other sources of saline lake temperatures are Carpelan (1958) for the Salton Sea, California, Eubank Brough (1980) for Great Salt Lake, Utah Smith et al. (1987) for Owens Lake, California, Gavrieli et al. (1989) for the Dead Sea, Israel and Jordan, and Casas et al. (1992) for Qaidam Basin, Qinghai Province, China. 

Casas, E., T. K. Lowenstein, R. J. Spencer P. Zhang, 1992 Carnallite mineralization in the nonmarine Qaidam basin, China Evidence for the early diagenetic origin of potash evaporites. J. Sed. Pet. 62 881-898. 

Lowenstein, T. K., R. J. Spencer, W. Yang, E. Casas, P. Zhang, B. Zhang, H. Fan H. R. Krouse, 1994. Major-element and stable-isotope geochemistry of fluid inclusions in halite, Qaidam Basin, western China Implications for late Pleistocene/Holocene brine evolution and paleoclimates. In Rosen, M. R. (ed.) Paleoclimate and Basin Evolution of Playa Systems. Geol. Soc. Am. Special... 

In order to accelerate the exploiting of Qaidam Basin, China, a number of the stable phase equilibria of salt-water systems were published at recent decades (Li et al., 2006 Song, 1998, 2000 Song Du, 1986 Song Yao, 2001, 2003). 

Analyses of Several Lithium-Rich Lakes in the Qaidam Basin, China, wt.% or ppm (Garrett, 1992)... 

Figure 1.74 Structure of Qaidam Basin, China (Sun and Lock, 1990). Legend (1) mountains ...

Lowenstein, T. K., Spencer, R. J., and Pengxi, Z. (1989). Origin of Ancient Potash Evaporites Clues from the Modern Non-marine Qaidam Basin of Western China. Science 245(4922), 1090-1092. 

Spencer, R., Lowenstein, T. K., Casas, E., and Zhang, P. (1991). Origin of Potash Salts and Brine in the Qaidam Basin, China. Spec. Publ., Geochem. Soc. 2, 395-408 Fluid-Miner. Interact.. 

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