Thermal mud diatoms

From a monitoring survey carried out on the mature thermal mud of 82 spa facilities, the diatom population, estimated at 60-68 taxa, was very similar to the population already described in previous works as well as to the population of materials collected in the lakes of Arquà and Lispida (Fig. 1).

 

 

Figure 1. Comparison of the contents of the main diatom taxa between the mud of the two thermal lakes of Arquà and Lispida and the mud of some spa facilities (H).

 

This proves that most of the diatoms found in the mature thermal mud of most spa facilities have a common origin. Among these, the most abundant diatoms were Aulacoseira granulata (Fig. 2), Cocconeis spp. (Fig. 3), Cyclotella spp., Denticula thermalis (Fig. 4) and Synedra spp. It should also be noted that Denticula thermalis and probably also Aulacosiera granulata (mentioned as Melosira thermalis) had been found since 1870 by Trevisan.

It is also interesting that Amphora aponina (now known as Amphora coffeaeformis) was reported in those years and was also found during the monitoring survey and in the works of Andreoli & Rascio (1975) and Tolomio et al. (2002, 2004).

 

 

Figure 2 – 4.  Images at the scanning electron microscope of Aulacoseira granulata (fig. 2) Cocconeis placentula (fig. 3) and Denticula thermalis (fig. 4).

 

 

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