0 an area of low, level ground covered in salt, especially one found along the coast of North Africa and Saudi Arabia:
The sediment samples studied have a distinctive spectral signature owing to the vibration absorption features and photosynthetic pigments of the stratified microbial community that populate the sabkha environment.
Complete cycles were produced by the upward gradation from central to marginal environments of the lake or saline pan-sabkha system.
During subsequent episodes of sulphate and chloride deposition, dense, residual brines were formed in saline lagoon, sabkha and playa environments.
The reason for this was probably that the sediments were deposited largely under sabkha conditions and therefore were particularly prone to exposure and freshwater flushing.
Evaporites are classified as primary, secondary and tertiary, 'secondary' corresponding to diagenetic (including sabkha textures and mineralogies) and 'tertiary' to evaporites in the exhumation stage.
However, after rains and flash-floods, the sabkha fill with shallow layers of water, and can not be crossed until they dry out to form a new crust.
An immature sabkha will be inundated during higher than normal spring tides, after rainstorms, or when driving winds push seawater onshore to a depth of a few centimeters.
The net rate of evaporation from the sabkha can be as much as an order of magnitude less and has averaged 6 cm for the last 4,000 to 5,000 years.
