Hydrochemistry and stable isotopes in a coastal lagoon affected by evaporation, Cabo de Gata (Almería)

The Salinas de Cabo de Gata are a natural coastal lagoon that has been anthropically transformed to favor the entry of seawater and its evaporation until saturation in sodium chloride. For this, it is compartmentalized in a series of ponds in which the seawater is guided by a circuit along which the salinity increases. Sediment samples have been taken at the bottom of these ponds and water samples to recognize which hydrogeochemical processes occur along the route. In the first ponds (evaporators) the suspended solids are decanted and carbonate precipitation occurs, along with the formation of pyrite linked to the high concentration of organic matter. On the other hand, in the last ponds (crystallizers) gypsum precipitation occurs when 70% evaporation is reached and, finally, halite when it reaches 90%. This precipitation notably changes the chemical composition of the waters, reducing the concentration of the ions present in the minerals that precipitate. From the isotopic point of view, gypsum precipitation also has its mark, reducing the proportions of 18O/16O and 2H/1H in the pond water. The study of these processes, in a mesoscale system, has great advantages for making palaeoenvironmental inferences at the basin scale, such as knowing what percentage of seawater must be evaporated so that gypsum or halite can precipitate in a basin.