Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

Nitrate Deposits of the Atacama Desert: A Marker of Long-Term Hyperaridity

2018; Mineralogical Society of America; Volume: 14; Issue: 4 Linguagem: Inglês

10.2138/gselements.14.4.251

1811-5217

Martín Reich, Huiming Bao,

Chemical Analysis and Environmental Impact

Research Article| August 01, 2018 Nitrate Deposits of the Atacama Desert: A Marker of Long-Term Hyperaridity Martin Reich; Martin Reich Department of Geology, FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Plaza Ercilla 803, Santiago, Chile, E-mail: mreich@ing.uchile.clAndean Geothermal Center of Excellence (CEGA), FCFM, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Huiming Bao Huiming Bao Department of Geology and Geophysics, Louisiana State University, E235 Howe-Russell-Kniffen Geosciences Complex, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, 70803 USA, E-mail: bao@lsu.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Elements (2018) 14 (4): 251–256. https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.14.4.251 Article history first online: 28 Jul 2018 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Martin Reich, Huiming Bao; Nitrate Deposits of the Atacama Desert: A Marker of Long-Term Hyperaridity. Elements 2018;; 14 (4): 251–256. doi: https://doi.org/10.2138/gselements.14.4.251 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search nav search search input Search input auto suggest search filter All ContentBy SocietyElements Search Advanced Search The nitrate deposits of the Atacama Desert are unique when one considers that in most surface environments nitrate is produced or consumed by biological processes and is easily washed away by rain. Nitrate deposits have puzzled geologists since Charles Darwin's visit to the Atacama in 1835 and several hypotheses have been proposed to explain their origin. Here, we review our current understanding of the nitrate deposits in the Atacama Desert and show that nitrate's primary origin is predominantly atmospheric. However, its massive accumulation and preservation specifically in Atacama is due to the serendipitous convergence of climatic, tectonic and hydrologic conditions that are unique to the Central Andes. You do not currently have access to this article.