Abstract: In the temperate and semiarid environment the salinity of both surface and subsurface(meteoric) waters is dominated by the weathering products of soil and aquifer minerals, since even surface waters have a history of subsurface flow. In the desert environment, in contrast, surface flows are more superficial and their chemistry dominated by the aeolian salinity. This has both a marine input and
a contribution from recycled salinity from surface accumulation of evaporitic minerals. Both these sources have chloride (and to a lesser extent sulphate) as the dominant anion.
