Water quality at Mina El Palmito

This site is very near El Potrero, the type locality for Prietella phreatophila, being to the West of that site on the other side of the small foothill of the Sierra. The tunnel of this Barite mine enters the hillside at a very steep angle followin g the dip of the ore vein to eventually intersect the water table. No fishes or invertebrates were found here.

Water quality at Mina El Palmito. Click on any graph for a larger image.
Temperature
temperature profile		 Specific conductance
specific conductance throughout course of the dive
pH
pH throughout course of the dive		 Dissolved Oxygen
Dissolved Oxygen throughout course of the dive
Redox Potential
Redox Potential throughout course of the dive		 Time / depth profile of the dive
Time / depth profile of the dive

Salient features of this site include:

  1. The water column is homogeneous at least to 10.4 m. A small increase in pH and drop in redox occurred on the bottom at 10.6 m.
  2. Water in the cave is exceptionally cold. The primarily vertical configuration of this cave suggests that it may be a "cold trap" where colder air from the surface sinks and collects at the bottom of the cave.
  3. Water in the cave is high in dissolved oxygen relative to other caves. At lower temperature, the solubility of oxygen in water increases.
  4. Water in the cave is at high pH. The presence of soluble compounds in the ore body probably affects the pH.