On Biochemical Formation of Salt Deposits

Abstract

A water/salt system in an evaporative environment is both a physicochemical region and a biological one. All the parameters of the system, such as the salinity, temperature and CO2 partial pressure, are affected by halophilic bacteria. The system controls salt deposition but is modified by an accompanying ecological system; therefore it should be called a water/salt/biological system. Salt minerals result from accumulation of the remains of bacteria/algae, namely, bacteria/algae formation; whereas biological, biophysical and biochemical processes provide full evidence for organic involvement. Consequently, salt deposits should not be called purely chemical but biological/chemical ones. This new argument supplements and develops the traditional idea and helps perfect the mineralization theory of salts and even general deposits, thus giving guidance to prospecting for salt deposits.