Saltern in the context of "Haloarchaea"

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⭐ Core Definition: Saltern

A saltern is an area or installation for making salt. Salterns include modern salt-making works (saltworks), as well as hypersaline waters that usually contain high concentrations of halophilic microorganisms, primarily haloarchaea but also other halophiles including algae and bacteria.

Salterns usually begin with seawater as the initial source of brine but may also use natural saltwater springs and streams. The water is evaporated, usually over a series of ponds, to the point where sodium chloride and other salts precipitate out of the saturated brine, allowing pure salts to be harvested. Where complete evaporation in this fashion was not routinely achievable due to weather, salt was produced from the concentrated brine by boiling the brine.

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Saltern in the context of Syracuse, New York

Syracuse (/ˈsɪrəkjz, ˈsɛr-, -kjs/ SIRR-ə-kewz, SERR-, -⁠kewss) is a city in New York, United States, and the county seat of Onondaga County. With a population of 148,620 and a metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13th-most populated municipality in the state of New York.

Formally established in 1820, Syracuse was named after the classical Greek city of Syracuse (Siracusa in Italian), located on the eastern coast of the Italian island of Sicily, for its similar natural features. Adjacent brine springs made the city a major producer of commercial salt into the late 19th century, earning the nickname "The Salt City"; it subsequently became a major industrial center until the mid-20th century, and has since been a hub for higher education, research, and services.

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Saltern in the context of Halobacterium salinarum

Halobacterium salinarum, formerly known as Halobacterium cutirubrum or Halobacterium halobium, is an extremely halophilic marine obligate aerobic archaeon. Despite its name, this is not a bacterium, but a member of the domain Archaea. It is found in salted fish, hides, hypersaline lakes, and salterns. As these salterns reach the minimum salinity limits for extreme halophiles, their waters become purple or reddish color due to the high densities of halophilic Archaea. H. salinarum has also been found in high-salt food such as salt pork, marine fish, and sausages. The ability of H. salinarum to live at such high salt concentrations has led to its classification as an extremophile.

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