<P> Evaporite (/ ɪˈvæpəraɪt /) is the term for a water - soluble mineral sediment that results from concentration and crystallization by evaporation from an aqueous solution . There are two types of evaporite deposits: marine, which can also be described as ocean deposits, and non-marine, which are found in standing bodies of water such as lakes . Evaporites are considered sedimentary rocks and are formed by chemical sediments . </P> <P> Although all water bodies on the surface and in aquifers contain dissolved salts, the water must evaporate into the atmosphere for the minerals to precipitate . For this to happen, the water body must enter a restricted environment where water input into this environment remains below the net rate of evaporation . This is usually an arid environment with a small basin fed by a limited input of water . When evaporation occurs, the remaining water is enriched in salts, and they precipitate when the water becomes supersaturated . </P> <P> Marine evaporites tend to have thicker deposits and are usually the focus of more extensive research . They also have a system of evaporation . When scientists evaporate ocean water in a laboratory, the minerals are deposited in a defined order that was first demonstrated by Usiglio in 1884 . The first phase of the experiment begins when about 50% of the original water depth remains . At this point, minor carbonates begin to form . The next phase in the sequence comes when the experiment is left with about 20% of its original level . At this point, the mineral gypsum begins to form, which is then followed by halite at 10%, excluding carbonate minerals that tend not to be evaporites . The most common minerals that are generally considered to be the most representative of marine evaporites are calcite, gypsum and anhydrite, halite, sylvite, carnallite, langbeinite, polyhalite, and kainite . Kieserite (MgSO) may also be included, which often will make up less than four percent of the overall content . However, there are approximately 80 different minerals that have been reported found in evaporite deposits (Stewart, 1963; Warren, 1999), though only about a dozen are common enough to be considered important rock formers . </P> <P> Non-marine evaporites are usually composed of minerals that are not common in marine environments because in general the water from which non-marine evaporite precipitates has proportions of chemical elements different from those found in the marine environments . Common minerals that are found in these deposits include blödite, borax, epsomite, gaylussite, glauberite, mirabilite, thenardite and trona . Non-marine deposits may also contain halite, gypsum, and anhydrite, and may in some cases even be dominated by these minerals, although they did not come from ocean deposits . This, however, does not make non-marine deposits any less important; these deposits often help to paint a picture into past Earth climates . Some particular deposits even show important tectonic and climatic changes . These deposits also may contain important minerals that help in today's economy . Thick non-marine deposits that accumulate tend to form where evaporation rates will exceed the inflow rate, and where there is sufficient soluble supplies . The inflow also has to occur in a closed basin, or one with restricted outflow, so that the sediment has time to pool and form in a lake or other standing body of water . Primary examples of this are called "saline lake deposits". Saline lakes includes things such as perennial lakes, which are lakes that are there year - round, playa lakes, which are lakes that appear only during certain seasons, or any other terms that are used to define places that hold standing bodies of water intermittently or year - round . Examples of modern non-marine depositional environments include the Great Salt Lake in Utah and the Dead Sea, which lies between Jordan and Israel . </P>

What is the most abundant mineral that forms from evaporating water