Gaet'ale
| Gaet'ale | ||
|---|---|---|
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| General view from the south | ||
| Geographical location | Afar , Ethiopia | |
| Drain | none | |
| Location close to the shore |
Dallol (4 km northwest) |
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| Data | ||
| Coordinates | 14 ° 12 ′ 47 " N , 40 ° 19 ′ 17" E | |
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| Altitude above sea level | -120 m | |
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particularities |
salty lake on earth |
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The Gaet'ale is a small hypersaline lake near the Dallol Crater in the Danakil Depression in the Afar region , Ethiopia . It is located above an underground thermal spring of tectonic origin and has no inflows or outflows on the earth's surface. The water of the Gaet'ale has a salinity of 43%, which is why it is considered the saltyest body of water on earth, ahead of the Don Juan Sea in Antarctica with 33.8%.
Location and origin
The Gaet'ale is the largest of several small ponds that are located about 4 km southeast of the Dallol springs. It has an approximately half-moon shape and measures around 60 m in diameter.
According to residents of the nearby village of Ahmed'ela, the pond was created after an earthquake in January 2005. Since the water comes from an underground thermal spring, the water temperature of the pond is 50–55 ° C higher than the ambient temperature.
Composition of the water
The water of the Gaet'ale contains mainly calcium chloride (CaCl 2 ) with 2.72 mol / kg and magnesium chloride (MgCl 2 ) with 1.43 mol / kg. It also contains small amounts of sodium and potassium ions as well as nitrite anions. The evaporation residue is 433 g / L or 43.3%. It also contains traces of Fe 3+ ions, which form a complex with Cl - , which gives the water its characteristic yellow color.
On the surface of the water, bubbles of a colorless gas escape, which is probably volcanically formed carbon dioxide . There are bodies of dead birds and insects around the pond.
Hot spring in the pond
Right on the bank
Individual evidence
- ↑ Eduardo Perez, Yonas Chebude: Chemical Analysis of Gaet'ale, a Hypersaline Pond in Danakil Depression (Ethiopia): New Record for the Most Saline Water Body on Earth , in: Aquatic Geochemistry , April 2017 (23rd year, Vol. 2), pp. 109-117, doi: 10.1007 / s10498-017-9312-z
- ^ Ulrich Theodore Hammer: Saline Lake Ecosystems of the World , Dordrecht / Boston / Lancaster 1986, Dr W. Junk Publishers, p. 109, ISBN 9789061935353
- ↑ S. Master: Gaet'ale- a reactivated thermal spring and potential tourist hazard in the Asale salt flats, Danakil Depression, Ethiopia , in: Journal of Applied Volcanology , 2016 (Vol. 5), pp. 1-9)
- ↑ a b Jasmin Fox-Kelly: In Earth's hottest place, life has been found in pure acid , BBC Future, August 4, 2017 (accessed October 30, 2019)
- ↑ Perez / Chebude (2017)