Methods Manual for Salt Lake Studies/Scope and Introduction

Scope and Introduction Salt lakes provide an excellent opportunity to study systems that are relatively unstudied. The unique features of these lakes - the arid environments in which they occur, the varied ionic composition of their brines, and the ephemericity of many of these lakes, provide challenges for the researcher. Methods developed for use in freshwater environments may not provide usable, or reliable, results in saline systems. Many analyses require dilution of samples to reduce salt effects, and this reduces the sensitivity of the analysis, sometimes to the point of uselessness. The challenges of measuring the characteristics of saline and hypersaline systems have been addressed by many authors over the years, however the modified methods they have proposed are scattered throughout the literature. It is hoped that this manual will provide researchers and students of salt lakes with a comprehensive reference to methods used in salt lake studies. Welcome! to the Methods Manual for Salt Lake Studies. The Manual is the result of discussions at the 10th International Society for Salt Lake Research (ISSLR) triennial conference. Log into http://www.isslr.org to find out more about ISSLR. Please feel free to add to this manual in your area of expertise. Casual readers are encouraged to edit boldly and bravely in order to help make this text friendly to the widest range of users. Either log into Wikibooks and select an area of the manual to edit, or send any material you have for inclusion to Peri Coleman (peri@deltaenvironmental.com.au) and it will be incorporated into the manual on your behalf. Initially it is thought that the following items would be appropriate for inclusion in this manual, although this list may expand over time: Descriptions of general methods applicable to salt lake studies Analytical method modifications from standard methods for freshwater Discussions relating to the limitations of various approaches in hypersaline environments Descriptions of equipment that may be used in salt lake studies Don't forget to provide your name and institution on the Authors page! You are also encouraged to put your name, as author, on the methods you have contributed.