Champagne Pool

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Location of Champagne Pool.
Location of Champagne Pool.
Champagne Pool
Champagne Pool - The orange color originates from deposits of arsenic and antimony sulfides.
The orange color originates from deposits of arsenic and antimony sulfides.
Location Waiotapu, North Island
Coordinates 38.37° S 176.35° ECoordinates: 38.37° S 176.35° E
Lake type geothermal
Basin countries New Zealand
Max. length 65 m
Max. depth 62 m
Water volume 50,000 m³
Residence time (of lake water) 34 days

Champagne Pool is a prominent geothermal feature within the Waiotapu geothermal area in the Waikato region of the North Island of New Zealand. The terrestrial hot spring is located about 30 km southeast of Rotorua and about 50 km northeast of Taupo. The name Champagne Pool is derived from the abundant efflux of carbon dioxide (CO2) similar to gas bubbles in a glass of bubbling Champagne. The hot spring was formed 900 years ago by a hydrothermal eruption [1], which makes it in geological terms a relatively young system. Its crater is around 65 m in diameter with a maximum depth of approximately 62 m and is filled with an estimated volume of 50,000 m3 of geothermal fluid [2].

[edit] Hydrochemistry

The deep geothermal water below Champagne Pool is of the order of 260°C [3] but water temperature within the pool is maintained at 73°C to 75°C by losing heat to the atmosphere. The pH of 5.5 is relatively constant due to buffering by the flux of CO2. Gases are mainly CO2, but to less extent nitrogen (N2), methane (CH4), hydrogen (H2), hydrogen sulfide (H2S) and traces of oxygen (O2) [4]. The siliceous geothermal fluid is oversaturated with metalloid compounds such as orpiment (As2S3) and stibnite (Sb2S3) which precipitate and form orange subaqueous deposits [5]. The colorful deposits are in sharp contrast to the grey-white silica sinter surrounding Champagne Pool.

[edit] Biology

Although Champagne Pool is geochemically well characterized only few studies have addressed its role as a potential habitat for microbial life forms. H2 and either CO2 or O2 would be available as metabolic energy sources for autotrophic growth of methanogenic or hydrogen-oxidizing microorganisms. Culture-independent methods provided evidence for filamentous, coccoid and rod-shaped cell morphologies in the hot spring [6] [7] [8]. Two novel bacteria and a novel archaeon have been successfully isolated from Champagne Pool [9]. Bacterial isolate CP.B2 named Venenivibrio stagnispumantis tolerates relatively high concentrations of arsenic and antimony compounds and represents a novel genus and species within the order Aquificales [10].

[edit] References

  1. ^ Lloyd, E. F. (1959). The hot springs and hydrothermal eruptions of Waiotapu. New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics 2, 141-176.
  2. ^ Hedenquist, J. W. (1986). Geothermal systems in the Taupo Volcanic Zone: Their characteristics and relation to volcanism and mineralisation. Bulletin of the Royal Society of New Zealand 23, 134-168.
  3. ^ Giggenbach, W. F., Sheppard, D. S., Robinson, B. W., Stewart, M. K. & Lyon, G. L. (1994). Geochemical structure and position of the Waiotapu geothermal field, New Zealand. Geothermics 23, 599-644.
  4. ^ Jones, B., Renaut, R. W. & Rosen, M. R. (2001). Biogenicity of gold- and silver-bearing siliceous sinters forming in hot (75 degrees C) anaerobic spring-waters of Champagne Pool, Waiotapu, North Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Geological Society 158, 895-911.
  5. ^ Pope, J. G., Brown, K. L. & McConchie, D. M. (2005). Gold concentrations in springs at Waiotapu, New Zealand: Implications for precious metal deposition in geothermal systems. Economic Geology 100, 677-687.
  6. ^ Jones, B., Renaut, R. W. & Rosen, M. R. (2001). Biogenicity of gold- and silver-bearing siliceous sinters forming in hot (75 degrees C) anaerobic spring-waters of Champagne Pool, Waiotapu, North Island, New Zealand. Journal of the Geological Society 158, 895-911.
  7. ^ Mountain, B. W., Benning, L. G. & Boerema, J. A. (2003). Experimental studies on New Zealand hot spring sinters: rates of growth and textural development. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 40, 1643-1667.
  8. ^ Phoenix, V. R., Renaut, R. W., Jones, B. & Ferris, F. G. (2005). Bacterial S-layer preservation and rare arsenic-antimony-sulphide bioimmobilization in siliceous sediments from Champagne Pool hot spring, Waiotapu, New Zealand. Journal of the Geological Society 162, 323-331.
  9. ^ (Hetzer, A., Morgan, H. W., McDonald, I. R. & Daughney, C. J. (2007). Microbial life in Champagne Pool, a geothermal spring in Waiotapu, New Zealand. Extremophiles 11, 605-614.
  10. ^ Hetzer, A., McDonald, I. R. & Morgan, H. W. (2008). Venenivibrio stagnispumantis gen. nov., sp. nov., a thermophilic hydrogen-oxidizing bacterium isolated from Champagne Pool, Waiotapu, New Zealand. International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology 58, 398-403.
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