Quantitative reconstruction of the paleosalinity in the Daihai Lake, InnerMongolia, China

Ostracods are small bivalved aquatic crustaceans. They secrete shells of lo w-Mg calcite that are often preserved in lake sediments. Recent work has sh own that the uptake of trace elements (especially Mg and Sr) into the shell may be a function of the salinity and temperature of the host water. We me asured Sr/Ca ratios in living ostracod valves from the species of genus Lim nocythere cf: inopinata and Sr2+/Ca2+ ratios of the host water to calculate distribution coefficient of genus Limnocythere cf. inopinata in the Daihai Lake. A function for Sr2+/Ca2+ ratio and salinity was established by measu ring a series of Sr2+/Ca2+ ratios and salinities of the lake water in diffe rent places of the Daihai Lake. Finally paleosalinities of the lake water w ere quantitatively reconstructed by the Sr/Ca ratios of ostracod shells of the same species in sediment core of the Daihai Lake.