| Hutt Lagoon, in the Perth Basin, Western Australia is a shallow (< 11 m) evaporitic basin, developed as a result of ponding in a Pleistocene calcreted dune terrain. Holocene sequence in the lagoon reflects a history of evaporite sedimentation through successive stages ranging from open marine to pond and playa environments. The contemporary lagoon is a playa surface in which sedimentation is related to distribution and interaction of hydrologic units (groundwaters, seawaters and lagoonal brines). Precipitation is restricted to ephemeral halite in ponded waters, and diagentic emplacement of CaCO sub(3) and CaSO sub(4) minerals in lagoonal sediments. Playa surfaces, predominantly below sea-level, fundamentally control the lagoonal circulation system;... |
