Shallow brines, an enigmatic story

Shallow near-surface brines are a fundamental hydrochemical component of arid and semi-arid regions, providing commercially valuable elements and ecologically important environments, yet their chemical evolution is frequently misinterpreted. Some of this misinterpretation stems from the assumptions that evaporation has caused the observed concentration, that all “evaporate” minerals are formed by evaporation, or that there is a chemically closed system. These major processes, while obvious, are surprisingly nuanced and at times the wrong explanation.