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Solar Lake

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Hypersaline Environments

Part of the book series: Brock/Springer Series in Contemporary Bioscience ((BROCK/SPRINGER))

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Abstract

Solar Lake, on the Sinai Peninsula (Gulf of Aqaba), is an extremely small (50 by 140 m), shallow (4–6 m deep), sea-marginal pond (Figure 14.1). Solar Lake can probably claim an unofficial record of the most number of scientific investigations for such a small body of water. Some preliminary data on this pond were first reported by Por (1972), and the dynamic physical, chemical, and microbiological cycles in the lake were described in detail by Cohen and co-workers (Cohen et al., 1977a, 1977b, 1977c). Cohen’s studies were followed by investigations by others to further define the microorganisms that comprise the biota, their activities, and their inorganic and organic geochem-ical remains. The small size, shallow depth, and the relative ease of access to the lake in the 1970s facilitated sample collection and measurements of in situ microbial activities. From the standpoint of understanding the biogeo-chemical dynamics of modern hypersaline environments, Solar Lake is the best known system in the world. Although it should not be considered a model for all marine-derived hypersaline systems, it can serve as a guide for similar investigations in other hypersaline habitats.

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Authors
  1. Barbara Javor
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© 1989 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Javor, B. (1989). Solar Lake. In: Hypersaline Environments. Brock/Springer Series in Contemporary Bioscience. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74370-2_15

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-74370-2_15

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-74372-6

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-74370-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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