A Multi–fluid Constrain for the Forming of Potash Deposits in the Savannakhet Basin: Geochemical Evidence from Halite
Qianhui REN
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 China
Search for more papers by this authorYongsheng DU
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 China
Search for more papers by this authorDonglin GAO
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Binkai LI
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorXiying ZHANG
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
Search for more papers by this authorXiuting LIU
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 China
Search for more papers by this authorXiaolong YUAN
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
Search for more papers by this authorQianhui REN
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 China
Search for more papers by this authorYongsheng DU
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 China
Search for more papers by this authorDonglin GAO
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
Search for more papers by this authorCorresponding Author
Binkai LI
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
Corresponding author. E-mail: [email protected]Search for more papers by this authorXiying ZHANG
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
Search for more papers by this authorXiuting LIU
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049 China
Search for more papers by this authorXiaolong YUAN
Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Xining 810008 China
Qinghai Provincial Key Laboratory for Geology and Environment of Salt Lake, Xining 810008 China
Search for more papers by this authorAbout the first author:
REN Qianhui, female; born in 1989 in Xingtai City, Hebei Province; Doctor; a graduate student of Qinghai Institute of Salt Lakes, Chinese Academy of Sciences. She is now interested in the study on isotopic, evaporites, and hydrogeology. E-mail: [email protected]
Abstract
The Khorat Plateau on the Indochina Terrane is known to have formed during the closure of the Tethys Ocean, although the origin of its potash mineral deposits is a topic of current debate. Data from a borehole on Savannakhet Basin is used in this study to re-define the evaporation processes of the study area. Geochemical analyses of halite from various borehole-derived evaporite strata have elucidated the fluid sources from which these ores formed. Measured δ11B indicated that ore deposits formed primarily due to evaporation of seawater, although non-marine fluids affected the later stages of the evaporation process. Fluctuations in B and Br concentrations in carnallite- and sylvite-rich strata indicate the influence of fresh water. Boron concentration in carnallite unit indicated the influence of hydrothermal fluids. From the relative timings of these various fluid influxes, the evolution of these evaporates can be divided into four stages: (1) an initial marine evaporation at the beginning of the deposit's formation, where seawater (and minor fresh water) trapped on the uplifted Khorat Plateau produced sediments and salts with Br contents lower than those of normal marine-derived evaporites; (2) a transgression stage, where seawater recharged the basin; (3) a hydrothermal infiltration stage, which was coeval with the late Yanshan movement; and (4) a stage of fresh water supply, as recorded by fluctuations in B and Br contents, inferring intermittent fresh water influx into the basin. Thus, although evaporites on the Savannakhet Basin primarily formed via marine evaporation, they were also influenced to a significant degree by the addition of non–marine fresh water and hydrothermal fluids.
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