Subj : ES Picture of the Day 23  2022
To   : All
From : Dan Richter
Date : Wed Mar 23 2022 12:00:58

 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Great Salt Lake’s Mirabilite Mounds

   March 23, 2022

    GSLmirabsalt876c_01feb22
    GSLmirabsalt876c_01feb22

   Photographer:  Ray Boren

   Summary Author:  Ray Boren

   Due to long-term drought, exposed shorelines of the  Great Salt Lake
   are in places speckled with  crystalline hummocks that resemble the
   larger terraced springs of  Yellowstone National Park. Unlike the
   national park’s travertine-lined  hot springs, however, the Utah
   phenomena are  mirabilite mounds. These unique landforms take shape
   over the cold winter months and when shoreline water has withdrawn
   enough to reveal usually submerged springs.

   This process has been the case for the past few years, notably on the
   south shore beach at Great Salt Lake State Park and Marina, as
   illustrated in the above photographs taken on February 1, 2022. The
   first photo shows several mounds, with the lake’s edge and
    Stansbury Island in the distance, while the second picture is a
   closeup of one of the formations.

   A layer of  sodium sulfate underlies the lakebed surface, so when
   spring water rises in the winter cold, mirabilite crystals effloresce
   upon exposure. This crystallization process creates the mounds and
   their sequences of small terraces. The mineral mirabilite — from the
   Latin “sal mirabilis” for “wonderful salt” — is found in  saline
   lakes and on playas around the world. The rare mounds around Great Salt
   Lake are not composed of sodium chloride, also known as common table
   salt (NaCl), but instead of  hydrated sodium sulphate
   (Na2SO4•10H2O). This compound is also called Glauber’s salt and has
   various medical applications.
     * Great Salt Lake, Utah Coordinates: 41.115, -112.476

Related EPODs

    Great Salt Lake’s Mirabilite Mounds  La Cascata di Fondo and
   Orion The Hunter  Waterfall in the Desert  Knik Arm Tides of
   Alaska  The Law of the (Colorado) River  Utah’s Great Salt Lake
    More...

Hydrology Links

     *  Current Sea Surface Temperature
     *  NOAA Ocean Explorer Gallery
     *  Ocean Color
     *  What is hydrology?
     *  Tides and Currents
     *  Water Resources of the United States
     *  World Waterfall Database
     *  The USGS Water Science School
     *  World Water Database
     *  The World’s Water
     *  USGS Surface Water Information Pages

-
   Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities
   Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu
 
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