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a. A supratidal environment of sedimentation, formed under arid to
semiarid conditions on restricted coastal plains just above normal
high-tide level. It is gradational between the land surface and the
intertidal environment. Sabkhas are characterized by evaporite-salt,
tidal-flood, and eolian deposits, and are found on many modern coastlines,
e.g., Persian Gulf, Gulf of California. See also:
tidal flat AGI
b. Any flat area, coastal or interior, where, through deflation and
evaporation, salts crystallize near or at the surface. AGI
c. In the rock record, a sabkha facies may be indicated by evaporites,
absence of fossils, thin flat-pebble conglomerates, stromatolitic laminae,
desiccation features such as mud cracks, and diagenetic modifications, for
example, disrupted bedding, dissolution and replacement phenomena, and
dolomitization. The sabkha environment may have been significant in the
formation of certain petroleum and sulfide-mineral deposits. Etymol:
Arabic. Also spelled: sabkhah. Syn: sebkha
Source:
Dictionary of Mining, Mineral, and Related Terms
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