On one of my pet projects, there is a chemical sea similar to the Black Sea if it had the saline content of Lake Natron; extreme density of chemicals in the soil and from vents. It's about the size of the Caspian Sea. The logistics of a chemical lake of that size are beyond me, what I'm asking is mainly what the coastlines would be like given the planet has constant hurricane force winds (which make landfall every so often.) Wind comes from a permanent cyclone at the planets polar region and travel south over the sea; a secondary cyclone encircles the inside of the basin in a counter-clockwise direction, creating the local wind current. As a baseline, suppose the lake was surrounded by rocky cliffs with sediment beaches on all sides. How would they shift on the lee side and the windward side? My assumption is deep gouges in the windward cliffs eventually disintegrating into nothing the closer they are to the shore with huge drifts of chemical-salt formations, and mostly carved into a total cliff without a beach, but I am uncertain of the lee side (the shore closest to the wind source.) I have thus far written it as an even slope with relatively mild geography in the shadow of the cliff. However, I also assume that on all sides there are counter-clockwise "scoops" of stone and arches, either of chemical formations or cliff stone, with larger drifts of sediment on the Eastern shore (as sand collides with the more stable cliff-rock).
$\begingroup$
$\endgroup$
4
-
1$\begingroup$ To answer this, you may need to explain about what the problem you are really trying to solve is. The question "how will it form?" Well, any land that rises above sea level will become coastline. Now, if you ask "what kind of geological structures would form?" that maybe more answerable. However, I am uncertain about what you are looking for. $\endgroup$– SonvarDec 16, 2022 at 19:08
-
$\begingroup$ You need to specify what sort of chemicals in what concentration and temperature. A sea of molten caustic soda will behave differently to one made of chloroform, liquid ammonia or chlorine trifluoride. What is the wind speed, atmospheric composition and what are the cliffs made of? Note the more alien the composition the more difficult it will be to specify an answer with any degree of accuracy. $\endgroup$– SlartyDec 16, 2022 at 21:10
-
1$\begingroup$ This question doesn't feel like it's ready for prime time. It's a challenge to read due to the stream-of-consciousness presentation and hard to answer due to the lack of details about the fluid in the lake, the chemical constituency of the soil surrounding the lake, and the nature of the atmosphere. But, to make a point, any region subjected to constant hurricane force winds would be very rocky due to the sediment being stripped away by the wind. The lake would experience super high evaporation. And who knows what the chemicals would do. $\endgroup$– JBHDec 17, 2022 at 7:07
-
$\begingroup$ My first thoughts went to super high evaporation. If the lake doesn't completely evaporate, there could be the formation of salt pans(or equivalent deposits, depending on the composition) along the coastline. $\endgroup$– The CommanderMar 22 at 3:28
Add a comment
|