Hydrogeochemistry of Big Soda Lake, Nevada: An alkaline meromictic desert lake

Y.K. Kharaka; S.W. Robinson; LeRoy M. Law; W.W. Carothers

doi:10.1016/0016-7037(84)90104-2

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Hydrogeochemistry of Big Soda Lake, Nevada: An alkaline meromictic desert lake

Y.K. Kharaka·S.W. Robinson·LeRoy M. Law·W.W. Carothers

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Abstract

Big Soda Lake, located near Fallon, Nevada, occupies an explosion crater rimmed by basaltic debris; volcanic activity apparently ceased within the last 10,000 years. This lake has been selected for a detailed multidisciplinary study that will ultimately cover the organic and inorganic hydrogeochemistry of water and sediments because the time at which chemical stratification was initiated is known (~1920) and chemical analyses are available for a period of more than 100 years. Detailed chemical analyses of the waters show that the lake is at present alkaline ( pH = 9.7 "> pH = 9.7 ), chemically stratified (meromictic) and is extremely anoxic (total reduced sulfur—410 mg/L as H 2 S) below a depth of about 35 m. The average concentrations (in mg/L) of Na, K, Mg, Ca, NH 3 , H 2 S, alkalinity (as HCO 3 ), Cl, SO 4 , and dissolved organics (as C) in waters of the upper layer (depth 0 to 32 m) are 8,100, 320, 150, 5.0, < 0.1 "> < 0.1 , < 0.5 "> < 0.5 , 4,100, 7,100, 5,800, and 20 respectively; in the deeper layer (depth 37 to 64 m) they are 27,000, 1,200, 5.6, 0.8, 45, 410, 24,000, 27,500, 6,800, and 60, respectively. Chemical and stable isotope analyses of the waters, δ 13 C "> δ13C and Δ 14 C "> Δ14C values of dissolved total carbonate from this lake and surface and ground waters in the area together with mineral-water equilibrium computations indicate that the waters in the lake are primarily meteoric in origin with the present chemical composition resulting from the following geochemical processes: 1. (1) evaporation and exchange with atmosphere, the dominant processes, 2. (2) mineral-water interactions, including dissolution, precipitation and ion exchange, 3. (3) inflow and outflow of ground water and 4. (4) biological activity of macro- and microorganisms, including sulfate reduction in the water column of the deeper layer at a very high rate of 6.6 μmol L −1 day −1 .

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Y.K. Kharaka, S.W. Robinson, LeRoy M. Law, W.W. Carothers. 1984. Hydrogeochemistry of Big Soda Lake, Nevada: An alkaline meromictic desert lake. https://doi.org/10.1016/0016-7037(84)90104-2

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