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Physico-chemical gradients and meromictic stratification in Cueva de la Mora and other acidic pit lakes of the Iberian Pyrite Belt

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Abstract

A marked vertical trend of increasing temperature and dissolved metal concentrations is observed in the monimolimnia of some meromictic pit lakes of the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) in SW Spain. Temperature differences between the chemocline and the pit lake bottom can be as high as 15°C (e.g. Herrerías), and the respective concentration of some metals (e.g. Fe) and metalloids (e.g. As) can increase by several orders of magnitude (e.g. Cueva de la Mora). The redox conditions also change drastically from the upper and oxygenated mixolimnion (strongly oxidizing) to the lower and anoxic monimolimnion (moderately reducing). Processes such as the inflow of metal–sulphate laden ground water from flooded shafts and galleries, and other factors such as the pit geometry or the relative depth of the lakes, must be considered to account for the observed stratification pattern. The vertical profiles of physico-chemical parameters and water chemistry obtained in Cueva de la Mora and other meromictic pit lakes of the IPB are also compatible with a reactive bottom in which several geochemical and microbial reactions (including reductive dissolution of Fe3+ minerals, bacterial reduction of Fe3+ and SO4 2− in pore waters within the sediments, and decomposition of organic matter) could be taking place.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Dr M.A. Aguilera (Centro de Astrobiología, CSIC-INTA), who carried out a preliminary identification of eukaryotic microorganisms of the Cueva de la Mora pit lake, and provided images taken by confocal microscopy. We sincerely thank Professor Christopher Gammons for his helpful scientific and editorial comments made on an earlier version of this manuscript. The suggestions and critical revisions made by Ted Eary and an anonymous reviewer are also greatly acknowledged. We finally thank Bob Kleinmann for his kind assistance provided during the editorial handling. This work has been supported with funds provided by IGME through several research projects.

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  1. Instituto Geológico y Minero de España (IGME), Alenza, 1, 28003, Madrid, Spain

    Javier Sánchez España, Enrique López Pamo, Marta Diez & Esther Santofimia

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  1. Javier Sánchez España
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  2. Enrique López Pamo
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  3. Marta Diez
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  4. Esther Santofimia
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Correspondence to Javier Sánchez España.

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España, J.S., Pamo, E.L., Diez, M. et al. Physico-chemical gradients and meromictic stratification in Cueva de la Mora and other acidic pit lakes of the Iberian Pyrite Belt. Mine Water Environ 28, 15–29 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10230-008-0059-z

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