Fluorine in the Waters of Hypersaline Water Bodies: Dead Sea, Lake Urmia

Abstract

Analyses of fluorine concentrations in the waters of the Dead Sea and Lake Urmia yielded the values of 5.3 ± 0.1 and 10.5 ± 0.1 mg/L, which in terms of the mass of the salt residue gives 15.9 and 26.0 mg F per 1 kg of anhydrous salts. Fluorine concentration in the salt residue of water in the examined hypersaline water bodies is far less than that for the normal seawater (37.1 mg F/kg). Experimental data show that the waters of the Dead Sea and Lake Urmia are strongly undersaturated in CaF₂, because of which spontaneous chemogenic precipitation of fluorite in them is impossible.