Carbonate accumulation on islands in the Okavango delta, Botswana

Efflorescent crusts consisting predominantly of the sodium carbonate minerals trona and thermonatrite with minor sylvite are commonly developed on less vegetated portions of islands in the Okavango Delta where the land surface is less than about one metre above water level. This efflorescence repres...

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Published inSouth African journal of science Vol. 82; no. 10; pp. 588 - 591
Main Authors MCCARTHY, T. S, MCIVER, J. R, CAIRNCROSS, B
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Pretoria Foundation for Research Development 01.10.1986
Subjects
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Exact sciences and technology
Freshwater
Geomorphology, landform evolution
Surficial geology
Trona
Southern Africa
Botswana
Calcium carbonate
Evapotranspiration
Vegetation
Sodium carbonate
Deltaic environment
Paludal environment
Thermonatrite
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Summary:Efflorescent crusts consisting predominantly of the sodium carbonate minerals trona and thermonatrite with minor sylvite are commonly developed on less vegetated portions of islands in the Okavango Delta where the land surface is less than about one metre above water level. This efflorescence represents the end product of evaporation of swamp water. At intermediate stages of evaporation, small calcite crystals are produced. These are brought to the surface by ants for the construction of termitaria, degradation of which produces concentrations of calcite on the surface. The low total dissolved solid content of swamp watersuggests that evaporation of swamp water occurs predominantly from islands. Carbonate build-up will have a major impact on the Okavango ecosystem in the future.
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ISSN:0038-2353