Talk:Sabkha

Merge? or rewrite?

So if sabkha are "any type of salt flat" and your lead "clarifies" that it's inclusive of any coastal or non-coastal salt flat (again, meaning "all of them"), then why is this a separate article from Salt pan (geology)?

If there's no distinction at all, the page should be merged to the more common English term.

If this is just "salt flats in Arabic-speaking regions", a) the article should say that and b) there really still isn't a need for this article to be separate. There should just be a discussion of Arab-adjacent salt flats on the regular salt flat page, with a mention that its Arabic name is "sabkha".

If neither of those is the case and there is something unique about sabkhas... well... say that in this article and get rid of the more generalized phrasing. — LlywelynII 17:51, 4 August 2019 (UTC)

Sabkhas are not equivalent to salt pans as not all sabkhas, specially coastal sabkhas, are salt pans. As defined by the 20005 American Geological Institute's Glossary of Geology, the main definition of sabkhas used by geologists, sedimentologists, and Earth scientists in general is A supratidal environment of sedimentation, formed under arid to semiarid conditions on restricted coastal plains just above normal high-tide level (a saline marine marsh). It is the gradational zone between the land surface and the intertidal environment. Therefore, as used by many geologists it is incorrect to claim that a sabkhas is simply just "any type of salt flat", although that is sometimes how the term is used in popular usage. In addition, typically coastal sabkhas are **not** covered with salt and other minerals. Typically they consist of flats composed of lime mud within which evaporite minerals, gypsum and salt only occurred beneath the surface and buried by lime mud. For example, go see:

Tucker, M.E. and Wright, V.P., 2009. Carbonate sedimentology. John Wiley & Sons.

and Warren, J.K., 2006. Evaporites: sediments, resources and hydrocarbons. Springer Science & Business Media. Paul H. (talk) 13:06, 5 August 2019 (UTC)