REE in waters and bottom sediments of salt lakes of Southeastern Transbaikalia, Russia

Svetlana V Borzenko,Leonid V Zamana,O Chudaev,R Millot,R Harmon,Y Kharaka,O Shouakar-Stash

doi:10.1051/e3sconf/20199801004

Abstract

This paper presents our analysis of the distribution of REE in mineral chloride and soda lakes of Southeastern Transbaikalia. With increasing water salinity, it was determined that concentrations of dissolved HREE increased. The prevalence in absolute concentrations of MREE and HREE was observed in lakes with the development of bacterial processes (sulfate-reduction). A geochemical barrier for accumulating the LREE in the waters can be fluoro-carbonates. The saturation degree of fluorcarbonates in soda lakes can be several orders higher than in chloride lakes. Under oxidizing conditions Ce(OH)4 can be formed and, in a reducing environment – Ce(OH)3.

Highlights

The distribution of rare earth elements (REE) in different types of natural waters is described in many publications and continues to be widely studied
We studied REE in waters and bottom sediments of the salt lakes of Southeastern Transbaikalia to determine the dependence of the concentration on the chemical composition and salinity of the water
The content of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is 3 times higher, because its production is associated with the sulfate reduction

Summary

Introduction

The distribution of rare earth elements (REE) in different types of natural waters is described in many publications and continues to be widely studied. Mineral lakes due to the diversity of their composition and salinity, and in such systems sedimentation provides great opportunities for research on hydrogeochemistry of rare earth elements and their participation in the modern sedimentation. We studied REE in waters and bottom sediments of the salt lakes of Southeastern Transbaikalia to determine the dependence of the concentration on the chemical composition and salinity of the water. We investigated the geochemical processes that limit the accumulation of REE in water, including the possibility of forming their own mineral phases as a result of their precipitation from saturated water solutions

Area of Study

Results and discussion

Conclusions