That is so interesting! First time I hear about it. Do you know the flow formula for the salt, does it behave any way similar to ice?

Dear Ulf Erlingsson,

Firstly, thanks for your interesting. But, I know just a little about the salt glacier, especially the laws of salt flow. Many researchers think it`s a kind of salt  diapirs (Michael R. Hudec,2007; Markus Mohr et al., 2007). Some senior scholars have discussed the forming process of salt flow in different places  by geophysical methods and simulation experiments (C. J. TALBOT,1984; Zsolt Schle´der and Ja´nos L. Urai, 2006; B. D. Trudgill,2011; Abdallah Al-Zoubi and Uri S. ten Brink, 2001; Peter Feldens and Neil Mitchell, 2015;Markus Mohr et al., 2007; Jackson M P A, 1995). You can got much from these publications. I hope this can help you. On the salt glacier in XinJiang, China, I`ll concern and research continuely. 

best regards

Qin

Dear Leonid,

I think the forming of salt flow is a slow process, or there are many stages in the gorwth process. In this process, I think the original and precipitated rock salt will recrystal. The recrystalization can`t change the component of rock salt, but, if it will cause some isotope fractionation in different stages of the process ( change of temperature, pressure and crystal morphology ). If can I use the methods of isotope geochemistry and fluid inclusions to reconstruct the process of salt flow from underground to the earth`s surface ? 

Best Regards

Qin

Dear Qin Zhanjie.

It may be an idea to use geochemistry to characterise the rheological properties of salt with varying compositions, water content and pressure ranges. The flow itself is a mechanical process that is to a large extend governed by the rheology of the salt. The dip of the substratum is another parameter that influences the salt flow rate.

I think that it wll be necessary to use an integrated approach, combining the other parameters with geochemistry in steps.

Success, it seems an interesting research topic.

Regards,  Dirk Nieuwland

 Dear Dikr,

Your good suggests give me a new angle of view and great encourage. Thanks very much! Now I`m doing field geological investigation, I`ll collect samples and data seriously and prudently.  I hope there is a chance to discuss the research with you in later time. Thanks for your great help again.

Best Regards,

Qin

Dear Qin, please do not hesitate to contact me again at .

Take a look at www.newtec.nl

Greetings,    Dirk

Dear Dirk,

Yes, I`ll send emails to you when I have some new  achievements. It`s my pleasure. Thanks for your interesting and help again.

Best wishes,

Qin

Dear Qin

I am so happy with you because this first time I heard about salt glacier, pls continue your research and share results, why because it is useful young researchers like me

Dear Qin,

The chemical composition of the salty influence its viscous properties. Viscous materials behave differently depending on the strain rate. At low strain rate, slow flow, salt can flow. Salt his strain rates it will eventually brake in a brittle manner. For your purpose of your geochemistry focussed study, it might be interesting to look at this aspect.

Cheers,   Dirk

Dear Dirk, 

It`s a very good suggest and angle of view to think the process of salt flow, in which we  can research the change and characteristic of gechemistry of salt galcier. Thanks very much for your great help.

Best wishes,

Qin

Dear Qin,

To find out the flow properties (strain as a function of stress) in the field one has to have data on the salt flow over years. I believe in glaciers the longest running such measurement is on Storglaciären i Sweden, started by Valter Schytt in 1946 (I did field work there two summers in the 1980's). If such data is not available it ought to be the first task to do, place out sticks, and measure their positions regularly with DGPS or something equivalent. Once you have data you can start trying to fit them to the flow law.

One useful thing you may find from your study is the mass balance of the thing; how much salt does it bring to the surface of Earth per year. 

Best wishes,

Ulf

Dear Ulf,

Thanks for your great suggest, which is just like the work done by Christopher J Talbot (1980,Seasonal Movements in a Salt Glacier in Iran). I don`t know if it is a useful method to measure the flowing volume of rock salt by RS (remote sensing) DATA in many years. But, I`ll try firstly. Heartfelt thanks for your help.

Best wishes,

Qin

You are refering to the Chaerhan salt glacier if I am right.

The Chaerhan salt glacier (namakiers) is the largest surface salt flow in Kuqa depression which is remolded from a pre-existing salt diapir (Zhao and Wang, 2016, evidence of early passive diapirism and tectonic evolution in the western Kuqa depression; Tang, 2011, Doctoral thesis). In the field, components of the paleocene rock salt is completely recrystallized, dissovled and mixed up. The chemical measuring of field samples is hard to achieve certain aims, I'm afraid. However, I'm very willing to know a possible way to unravel the kinematics of a salt structure from surface samples.

Below could be some possible aims for your research:

a. Despite the common understanding of a passive early history, some researchers still suggest that the Quele salt nappe (from which the Chaerhan namaskier is fed) is formed during the Pliocene shortening of Kuqa depression, without an early stage;

b. What is the burial depth of present surface samples? Could we establish a satisfying equation between surface samples and deep source in lab? This could led to a new way to understand a few structural quenstions, such as the shortening rate (could be calculated from the burial depth), the early history (when is the salt extruded?)

Ps: the recent surface study by Cindy Colón et al., 2016 (The variety of subaerial active salt deformations in the Kuqa fold-thrust belt (China) constrained by InSAR) could be helpful if you wanna do some remote sensing work.

Best Regards

Hello, Zhao Bo

Thanks very much for your good suggests. You are right. I`m doing some research work about Kuqa salt glacier.

I have read your article(2016), it`s a great work and give me a big help for understanding the salt flow.

I have some questions to consult with you:

1) I don`t know what`s lithology the blue part is and why it has the lowest electrical resistivity in Fig13.

2)  In 2 and 8 kilometers underground, all green part in Fig13 represent the salt and basement, is it ? 

Best wishes.

Qin

Dear Qin,

1. The magnetotelluric data are highly related to the lithology and thus often used to study the sedimentary environment. The low resistance, the fine grain. So the lowest blue part is identified as fine-grained sandstone. The gradually changing color represents the changing lithology from a fan-root to fan-front.

2. Yes, as the drilling data showed, green part is salt and sub-salt basement.