A review of the defining chemical properties of soda lakes and pans: an assessment on a large geographic scale of Eurasian inland saline surface waters

The aim of this study is to evaluate the definition of water chemical type, with particular attention to soda brine characteristics by assessing ionic composition and pH values on a large geographic scale and broad salinity (TDS) range of Eurasian inland saline surface waters, in order to rectify the considerable confusion about the exact chemical classification of soda lakes and pans. Data on pH and on the concentration of eight major ions were compiled into a database drawn from Austria, China, Hungary, Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia, Serbia, and Turkey. The classification was primarily based on dominant ions exceeding an equivalent percentage of 25 (> 25e%) of the total cations or anions, and the e% rank of dominant ions was also identified. We identified four major types: waters dominated by (1) Na-HCO3 (10.0%), (2) Na-HCO3 + CO3 (31.4%), (3) Na-Cl (45.9%), and (4) Na-SO4 (12.7%), considering only the first ion by e% rank. These major types can be divided into 30 subtypes in the da...