Sulphidic aquifer of South Dobrogea - Romania

Basic Information
Site Name
Sulphidic aquifer of South Dobrogea
Short name
Movileaquif
Country
Romania
Web Address
https://www.gesslab.org/
Operating Organisation
Group for Underwater and Speleological Exploration (GESS)
Site Manager
Dr. Alexandra Maria Hillebrand-Voiculescu
Funding Agency
Group for Underwater and Speleological Exploration (GESS)
Site Description
The Sulphidic aquifer of South Dobrogea offers Mars-analogue sites in the form of isolated subsurface habitats characterised by the presence of toxic compounds (H2S, CH4, NH4+) dissolved in suphidic water and an entire ecosystem based on chemosynthesis that has been isolated for over 5.5 million years (since the Messinian Crisis when organisms retreated underground to find shelter and humidity as well as a sustainable source of nutrients provided by the microbial biofilms thriving on the chemicals dissolved). The various physical-chemical features of microniches of this ecosystem (darkness, lack of O2, increased levels of H2S and CH4 – in Movile Cave; strong light, high temperature (up to 40°C in summer) and O2 – in the ...
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Last modified
2024-07-16 08:07:51

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General Characteristics and Status
Site Status
Operational
Year Established
1990
Photos
GoogleEarth image of aquifer
GoogleEarth image of aquifer
Geographic
1 km
3000 ft
View in site map
Centroid/Representative Coordinates

Latitude: 43.826457 Longitude: 28.558434

Size
ca. 5000.00ha
Elevation (average)
7.00msl
Elevation (min)
-15.00msl
Elevation (max)
15.00msl
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Site information [.json]

Centroid/representative coordinates [.shp] [.kml]
Bounding Box [.shp] [.kml]
Boundaries [.shp] [.kml]
GEO-BON Biome
Marine
Coastal
Fresh water lakes
Fresh water rivers
Ecosystem Type
Coastal
Lakes
Marine
Rivers
Biogeographical Region
Black Sea Bio-geographical Region
EUNIS habitat
Coastal habitats (B)
Inland surface waters (C)
Marine habitats (A)
Air Temperature: Average Annual
13.00°C
Precipitation Annual
299.00mm
Landforms
Coast
Cave
Lake
River
not applicable/not relevant
Geology
Karst region developed in Sarmatian and Neogene limestone.
Vegetation
Since the site covers both land and sea, the vegetation is very diverse.
Hydrology
Karst region, with deep sulphidic water resurging inland, on the bottom of fresh water lakes and on the Black Sea bottom as sulphidic springs.
Protection Level (IUCN category)
Category Ia – Strict Nature Reserve
Category IV – Habitat/Species Management Area
Site Type
Stationary land-based site
Design of Experimentation
mainly experimentation
Scale of Experimentation
catchment scale
Design of Observation
mainly observation
Scale of Observation
entire catchment
Permanent Power Supply
Yes
Equipment
Supporting infrastructure » Transportation » Vehicle 2WD
Supporting infrastructure » Transportation » Boat
Supporting infrastructure » Staff room at site » 2 - 5 places
Supporting infrastructure » Lodging at site » 1 - 5 beds
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Data transmission » Data Transmission Type (from site) » Telephone line
Energy and data transmission infrastructure » Energy supply » Permanent Power Supply Location » Central station(s)
Accessible All Year
Yes
All parts of Site Accessible
Yes
Access Type
regular car
General Data Policy
Co-authorship on publications resulting from use of the dataset
The data provider must be offered co-authorship for publications using this dataset at least within the metadata description
Formal acknowledgement of the dataset providers
The opportunity to collaborate on the project using the dataset
At least part of the costs of dataset acquisition, retrieval or provision must be recovered.
The opportunity to review the results based on the dataset
The dataset provider is given a complete list of all products that make use of the dataset
Legal permission for dataset use is obtained
Mutual agreement on reciprocal sharing of data
The data provider is given and agrees to a statement of uses to which the dataset will be put