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- ISSN: 2333-2581
- Modern Environmental Science and Engineering
A Sulphate-rich Maar Lake in the Pliocene of Hungary
Abstract: Sedimentation in maar lakes is driven mainly by climate and post-eruptive fluids. Organically rich sediments of the basaltic Pula maar (W Hungary), considered as soil remediative material, have been explored by numerous shallow core-wells. XRD and main element measurements have been done on core samples taken at every half meter and meter, respectively, of a 50 m thick well profile. Aragonite and algal organic matter are major components. Gypsum (up to 16%), glauberite (up to 5%), pyrite (up to 4%) and presence of elemental sulphur has been detected in a great number of samples. Sulphate dissolved by post-eruptive fluids from anhydrite content of the Triassic basement at about 3 km depth is suggested as main source of the sulphur. The upward moving water cooled and became oversaturated for sulphate, which precipitated in the anoxic bottom water or already in the pore space of the sediments.
Key words: gypsum, glauberite, post-eruptive fluids, meromictic lake
