The effects of microbial activity on the geochemistry of highly acidic crater lakes： An example from Laguna Caliente, Poas volcano （Costa Rica）

Laguna Caliente is a crater lake hosted within the Poas volcano （Costa Rica） that is considered one of the most active volcanic systems of Central America. Laguna Caliente is characterized by extremely low pH （-1） and very high TDS values （up to 33700 mg/L）, although, in the last two decades, the lake volume has significantly changed, mainly in relation to variations of the fumarolic activity. In this work, we present the chemical and isotopic compositions of water and dissolved gases collected along the vertical profile of the lake in order to constrain the main processes that control its physical-chemical features. Water and gas samples were collected. Laguna Caliente has a Ca （Mg）-Cl （SO4） composition, typical of acid-brine lakes of active volcanic systems. Among dissolved gases, CO2 content, by considering the low pH, is particularly high （up to 18.1% by vol.）, and relevant amounts of oxygen （15.8. % by vol.）, preventing the formation of any anoxic hypolimnion, are also present at the maximum depth. Temperature and chemical species remain almost constant along the vertical profile, with the exception of F- that shows a moderate increase with depth and CI and SO4^2-, whose contents increase by more than 10% at the depth of 20 m, and, below 20 m, decrease to values similar to those measured at surface. This compositional stratification may be tentatively explained by the complex combination of, at least, three processes： （1） input of high-temperature volatiles from sub-lacustrine fumaroles, （2） loss of HCl and H2S from lake surface through evaporation, and （3） SO4^2- and CI consumption due to microbial activity at the bottom of the lake.