Mineralogical and geochemical features of bacterial mats and travertines of the Khoito-Gol thermal spring (East Sayan)

Abstract

The mineralogical and geochemical features of the Khoito-Gol ecosystem (fresh thermal waters–microorganisms–travertines) of the Baikal Rift Zone and the aspects of the interaction among its components were studied. The research has shown that the behavior, distribution, and accumulation of trace elements are determined mostly by the geochemical barriers of geologic and biologic genesis in the flowing-water habitat of bacteria of the Khoito-Gol spring. Formation of biominerals by different functional groups of its bacterial community is considered.

Mineralogy, Geochemistry, and Stable Isotopes (C, O, S) of Hot Spring Waters and Associated Travertines near Tamiahua Lagoon, Veracruz, Gulf of Mexico (Mexico)

“…Aragonite, elemental sulfur, gypsum, anhydrite, celestine, opal, fluorite, and goethite were identified using scanning electron microscopy coupled to SEM (Figure 9a-d). It is worth mentioning that some authors (e.g., [26]) have also described the presence of fluorite in travertines of deep origin. Quartz (<5 µm) is scarce and has been identified as detrital origin (Figure 9a).…”

“…The laminations are the most common textural lithofacies observed in many of these formations. Their cyclicity, origin, and relationship with biogenic activity are still discussed [8,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26].…”