Variation patterns of boron and lithium isotopes in salt lakes on the Qinghai–Tibetan Plateau and their application in evaluating resources in the Damxung Co salt lake

Objective The Qinghai–Tibet Plateau is rich in salt lake resources, known particularly for the concentration of elements such as boron and lithium, forming many distinctive resource-type salt lakes. Compared with ordinary salt lakes, a notable characteristic of resource-type salt lakes is the abundant supply of elements such as boron and lithium. Consequently, these elements' sources and accumulation patterns are key scientific issues for understanding the genesis and mineralization patterns of resource-type salt lakes. Boron and lithium isotopes, characterized by significant mass differences and variations in natural isotope ratios, serve as effective tracers for studying the material sources of boron and lithium in salt lakes. However, the application of boron and lithium isotopes in salt lake systems faces the following three challenges: (1) There is insufficient understanding of how boron and lithium isotopes respond to the fundamental geochemical processes of salt lakes. The salt dissolution process tha