Bagno dell'Acqua Lake is part of the Pantelleria Island National Park (Sicily) and represents a site of extraordinary environmental and scientific relevance as the interactions between volcanic fluids, climate and morphology make the chemistry of the waters alkaline, with the development of rich biotic communities and of a very specific ecosystem, unique in Italy and rare in the world. In recent years, the lake has been the subject of highly multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies which concerned almost all the microbial, faunal, geomorphological, hydrogeological, volcanological, geochemical and minero-petrographic aspects of the lake. The lake has a sub-circular shape (350x450m), the maximum depth is slightly more than 12m. The composition of the water is controlled by the meteoric contribution and groundwater input, mixed with seawater and hydrothermal springs. Hydrothermal emissions are present along the entire perimeter of the lake and on the seabed. The gas emitted is mainly CO2 (98%). The waters of the lake are rather homogeneous, with temperatures of 14-25°C and pH about 9. Lake Bagno dell'Acqua is the only alkaline volcanic lake in Italy and the only non-glacial one in Europe. The most characteristic biota of the Lago Bagno dell'Acqua ecosystem is that of cyanobacteria, which represent the first level of the aquatic food chain and contribute to the biodiversity of the lake together with a vast range of other microbial organisms; the bacteria cover the seabed with thick felts, are responsible for the formation of a characteristic organic mud responsible for the white/turquoise color of the seabed (however back and anoxic immediately below the water/sediment interface) and generate microbialites (organo-sedimentary deposits with a relevant mineral component) along the shores and inside the lake. From the point of view of biodiversity, the geological structure and the particular chemistry make the lake of Bagno dell'Acqua a real extreme environment and a biodiversity hot spot with characteristics that are unique in Europe and exceptional in the world. Biodiversity is always based on geodiversity (the set of geological structures and processes that determine the physical and chemical environment), but this interaction is particularly evident in extreme environments such as Bagno dell'Acqua lake.
When geodiversity drives biodiversity: Bagno dell'Acqua alkaline Lake, Pantelleria Volcano, Sicily, Italy
Francesco Latino Chiocci;Francesco Giuseppe Falese;Aida Maria Conte;Stefano Fazi;Michela Ingrassia;Ilaria Mazzini;Martina Pierdomenico;Andrea Sposato;
2023
Abstract
Bagno dell'Acqua Lake is part of the Pantelleria Island National Park (Sicily) and represents a site of extraordinary environmental and scientific relevance as the interactions between volcanic fluids, climate and morphology make the chemistry of the waters alkaline, with the development of rich biotic communities and of a very specific ecosystem, unique in Italy and rare in the world. In recent years, the lake has been the subject of highly multidisciplinary and interdisciplinary studies which concerned almost all the microbial, faunal, geomorphological, hydrogeological, volcanological, geochemical and minero-petrographic aspects of the lake. The lake has a sub-circular shape (350x450m), the maximum depth is slightly more than 12m. The composition of the water is controlled by the meteoric contribution and groundwater input, mixed with seawater and hydrothermal springs. Hydrothermal emissions are present along the entire perimeter of the lake and on the seabed. The gas emitted is mainly CO2 (98%). The waters of the lake are rather homogeneous, with temperatures of 14-25°C and pH about 9. Lake Bagno dell'Acqua is the only alkaline volcanic lake in Italy and the only non-glacial one in Europe. The most characteristic biota of the Lago Bagno dell'Acqua ecosystem is that of cyanobacteria, which represent the first level of the aquatic food chain and contribute to the biodiversity of the lake together with a vast range of other microbial organisms; the bacteria cover the seabed with thick felts, are responsible for the formation of a characteristic organic mud responsible for the white/turquoise color of the seabed (however back and anoxic immediately below the water/sediment interface) and generate microbialites (organo-sedimentary deposits with a relevant mineral component) along the shores and inside the lake. From the point of view of biodiversity, the geological structure and the particular chemistry make the lake of Bagno dell'Acqua a real extreme environment and a biodiversity hot spot with characteristics that are unique in Europe and exceptional in the world. Biodiversity is always based on geodiversity (the set of geological structures and processes that determine the physical and chemical environment), but this interaction is particularly evident in extreme environments such as Bagno dell'Acqua lake.I documenti in IRIS sono protetti da copyright e tutti i diritti sono riservati, salvo diversa indicazione.
