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Capo Palinuro

Name Alias(es): 
Vent Sites: 
Grotta Azzurra (= Grotto Azzura)
Grotta Sulfurea (= Sulphureous grotto)
Maximum Temperature: 
25
Latitude: 
40.0167
Longitude: 
15.2667
Location on map: 
Region: 
National Jurisdiction: 
Maximum or Single Reported Depth (mbsl): 
30
Minimum Depth (mbsl): 
0
Tectonic setting: 
Full Spreading Rate (mm/a): 
Volcano Number (if applicable): 
Host Rock: 
NotProvided
Deposit Type: 
LTH
Notes on Vent Field Description: 
tectonic setting categorized as "other" based on description in Stueben et al. (1996): "The chemical data suggest that the proposed thermal fluid contains two components, one derived from seawater (< 90%) and the other from low-salinity groundwater (> 10%). The heat source for the circulating fluids is uncertain, but may involve warm underlying igneous rocks or heating via the geothermal gradient."; note: M. Hannington lists with Aeolian Islands, but it is not part of the Aeolian Arc; not part of Palinuro Volcanic Complex
Notes Relevant to Biology: 
for microbes, see Canganella et al. (2005)
Year and How Discovered (if active, visual confirmation is listed first): 
1990 or earlier, likely by SCUBA
Discovery References (text): 
[Alvisi, M., Barbieri, F. and Colantoni, P., 1994. Le grotte marine di Capo Palinuro. Memoire dell'Istituto Italiano di Speleologica, Serie II 6, pp. 143–181.]
Other References (text): 
Stueben et al., Geochemistry of submarine warm springs in the limestone cavern of Grotta Azzurra, Capo Palinuro, Italy: evidence for mixing-zone dolomitisation. Chem. Geol., 131, 113-124 , 1996
Bianchi, et al., 1998. Hydrology and water budget of a submarine cave with sulphidic springs: the ‘Grotta Azzurra’ of Capo Palinuro (Southern Italy). Atti del 12°Congresso dell'Associazione Italiana Oceanolgoca e Limnologia 2, pp. 285–299
Dando et al. (1999) Hydrothermalism in the Mediterranean Sea. Progr. Oceanogr. 44: 333-367
Canganella et al. (2005) Characterisation of Heterotrophic Microorganisms Isolated form the "Grotta Azzura" of Cape Palinuro (Salerno, Italy). Marine Ecology 23: 1-10.
Dando, P. R. (2010) Biological communities at marine shallow-water vent and seep sites. In: Kiel, S. (Ed.) The vent and seep biota – from microbes to ecosystems. Topics in Geobiology 33: 33-378. Springer.