Microbial Diversity and Its Relationship to Physicochemical Characteristics of the Water in Two Extreme Acidic Pit Lakes from the Iberian Pyrite Belt (SW Spain).

ABSTRACT: The Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB) hosts one of the world's largest accumulations of acidic mine wastes and pit lakes. The mineralogical and textural characteristics of the IPB ores have favored the oxidation and dissolution of metallic sulfides, mainly pyrite, and the subsequent formation of acidic mining drainages. This work reports the physical properties, hydrogeochemical characteristics, and microbial diversity of two pit lakes located in the IPB. Both pit lakes are acidic and showed high concentrations of sulfate and dissolved metals. Concentrations of sulfate and heavy metals were higher in the Nuestra Señora del Carmen lake (NSC) by one order of magnitude than in the Concepción (CN) lake. The hydrochemical characteristics of NSC were typical of acid mine waters and can be compared with

SUBMITTER: Santofimia E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3694112 | biostudies-literature | 2013

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature