Table 1.

Characteristics of the brine and pore water of investigated soda lakes in Kulunda Steppe (Altai, Russia, July 2007)

Name	Brine chemistry			Sediment pore brine chemistry
	Salinity (g l−1)	pH	Carbonate alkalinity (M)	Depth (cm)	HS− (mM)	F	A	P	B
Tanatar-5	70	10.35	0.77	2–5	0.6	3.2	4.4	33.0	2.0
				6–10	2.6
				11–15	3.3
				16–20	1.8	4.5	3.9	31.1	0
Bitter-1	175	10.53	2.95	2–5	1.03	9.4	13.8	32.0	0
				6–10	1.39	5.9	4.7	43.4	0
				11–15	0.97
				16–20	0.50

F formate, A acetate, P propionate, B butyrate (all in mg l⁻¹)