International Research Journal of Environment Sciences________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414Vol. 2(12), 25-28, December (2013) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 25 Study of Physicochemical Characterization of Lonar Lake Effecting Biodiversity Lonar Lake, Maharashtra, India Shinde Vinod A. and More S.M. Department of Microbiology, Yeshwant Mahavidyalaya, Nanded, Maharashtra, INDIAAvailable online at: www.isca.in, www.isca.me Received 9th November 2013, revised 30th November 2013, accepted 20th December 2013 AbstractThe lonar crater lake is proved to be caused by a Meteor which is mainly of rocky material and the pH values of the lake water are generally higher than 10and occasionally reaching 12. The lake is a closed system without any outlet and the lake is unique due to its salinity, alkalinity and biodiversity. Water is the most vital abiotic component of the lake ecosystem and while studying the biodiversity of any lake ecosystem, the Knowledge of the physicochemical quality of lake water becomes important. Therefore in present article studies on physicochemical quality of water and in Lonar Lake were done and it was seen that chlorides and salinity of the Lake water is decreasing, but the biodiversity of the lonar lake is increasing as we found presence of some microorganisms i.e. Some Bacillus species, Some Lysinibacillus species and Some Pseudomonas species. Keywords: Meteor, Biodiversity, Physicochemical quality, Bacillus Species, Lysinibacillus species, Pseudomonas species. Introduction A meteor entering into Earth’s atmosphere can undergo fragmentation. Impact of such objects can produce shock waves in solid materials and both impacter and material impacted is rapidly compressed to high density and upon de-pressurization it explodes violently to produce the impact crater. Shock metamorphic effects include a layer of shattered or breciated rocks under the floor of the crater . The mark of an impact crater is the presence of some elements like Ni, Pt, Ir,and Co which are not usually found in the Earth’s interior . The presence of Maskelnite i. e. glassy type material at the impact site is also one of the distinctive features of an impact crater. Meteor impact craters like Barringer Crater also called as aka Meteor Crater in Arizona United States4,5 and the Lonar Crater Lake in Buldhana District of Maharashtra India are rare on Earths surface. The Lonar crater has water in it and is one of the biggest meteorite craters having Basalt in it; this crater has a large slope with a dense forest in the region. The two slopes within the crater are 15 to 18 degrees and 30 degrees. The slope measuring 15-18 degrees has a notch through which the Meteor came. The opposite side of slope is increased due to the pressure created by the Meteor and by the remains of the notch side blown away. The lonar crater lake is proved to be caused by a Meteor which is mainly of rocky material and the pH values of the lake water are generally higher than 10and occasionally reaching 12. Negro River basin has a huge amount flooded forest and lakes, which are distinguished by their acidic water (pH4.0) staining wine. Before the impact the meteor has fragmented in three pieces and has led the formation of three lakes known as Lonar Lake, Ganesh Lake and Amber Lake. The Ganesh Lake and Amber Lake are dried up now. This crater has a great importance for studying our probable meteor impact. Concentration of bio-available metals such as Arsenic, Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Nickel, Manganese, Titanium and Zinc, Mercury and Lead is toxic to biological systems. Metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury, and selenium are highly toxic even in minor quantities. Heavy metal and their salts are considered as very important group of environmental pollutant which in small quantities maybe essential nutrients that protect your health, yet in larger quantity it become toxic and dangerous to human being. High levels of pollutants in lake water causes an increase in biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total dissolved solids (TDS), total suspended solids (TSS), toxic metals such as Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and fecal coli form and hence make such water unsuitable for drinking. Therefore the metal concentration is to be studied in the lonar lake10. The alkaline environments are caused by a combination of geological, geographical and climatic conditions. They are characterized by large amounts of sodium carbonate formed by evaporative concentration. In the course of formation of alkalinity, other salts particularly (NaCl) also concentrate, giving rise to an alkaline saline environment. The aim of the present study was to analyze in physico-chemical quality of Lonar lake water. Lonar Lake is a closed one without any outlet and unique due to its salinity, alkalinity and biodiversity. Due to the uniqueness, the lake has evoked much scientific values among researchers and continues to site of attraction for many. Biodiversity of the lake is an important attraction for studying the physicochemical characters of the lake water. Therefore it was thought to undertake studies on physicochemical quality of water in Lonar Lake. Methodology Four sediments samples were collected from selected sites of Lonar Lake with the help of scooper in sterile polythene bag. They were labeled and transported to the laboratory and stored at 40C until further analysis. The soil samples were collected using standard recommended method and the samples were International Research Journal of Environment Sciences______________________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414 Vol. 2(12), 25-28, December (2013) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 26 taken at different depths as depth of the sampling is important because the mobility of nutrients varies with the nutrient content in the different soil zones. The depth of sampling was kept as recommended. For water samples also the standard recommended method s were followed. Sampling was done in March-2011 [Two samples] and May-2012 [One sample]. The parameter selected for analysis for water were temperature, pH, color, odour, total dissolved solids, alkalinity, total hardness, permanent hardness, BOD (biochemical oxygen demand), COD (Chemical oxygen demand), chloride, Nitrates, Nitrites, Turbidity. Salinity, dissolved sulphate, and phosphate. The pH and temperature recorded on the spot by using pH paper and thermometer and rest of the parameters were analyzed in the laboratory by standard methods. The parameters selected for analysis for soil were : soil texture, soil composition [sand; slit; clay], moisture, partial density, apparent density, porosity, volume expansion, water holding capacity, conductivity, soil color, pH, salinity, organic carbon, available nitrogen, available phosphorus, available potassium, total calcium, total magnesium, total sodium, free calcium, copper, iron, manganese, zinc, sulpher, boron. Results and Discussion The alkaline Lonar Lake, in Central India, situated in the village at Lonar, Buldhana district, Maharashtra ranks third in the world based on diameter and its high (pH 10.5) alkalinity11. It is a closed system without outlets and regular influents are responsible for its existence. Based on the geological studies, it is postulated that the Lake originated as a meteorite impact crater around 50-53 thousand years ago12,13. The diameter around the Lake is about 1.75 Km and water enters the Lake through rain, ground water seepage and the springs situated in the cliffs at the edge of the Lake. It does not receive any industrial discharges. Alkalinity of the Lake is attributed to the high content of sodium carbonate and hence was used previously as a source of washing soda 14. The water in the crater is very salty. It is 10 times saltier than drinking water. Salts and minerals like sodium, chloride, carbonates, fluorides and bicarbonates (TDS around are found and as this water do not drain away these substances get collected beneath the surface 5,15,16. In such conditions one cannot think of any living organisms, but microorganisms like Arthrospora, proteobacteria and algae are found abundant 17. It revealed that Lake water is alkaline (pH 9.5) and characterized by high concentration of salts (9060 mg/l), chloride (3492 mg/l), salinity (6391 mg/l), alkalinity (3751 mg/l), total hardness (480 mg/l), calcium hardness (118 mg/l), magnesium hardness (361 mg/l), sulphate (21 mg/l), phosphate (0.44 mg/l), nitrate (3.7 mg/l) and dissolved oxygen (0.0034 mg/l). Physical characters of the lonar lake water sample are appearance turbid with algal growth; odour objectionable, turbidity as NTU 4.2. Chemical characters of Lonar lake water sample are pH 9.5, chlorides 542.20, nitrates 21.30, nitrites traces, total hardness 670, permanent hardness 260, TDS 2041, iron 0.45, fluorides 1.7, alkalinity 420, total suspended solids 1580, total solids 2600, BOD 1864, COD 3168 [table-1]. Table-1 Lonar Lake Water Analysis Sr. No. Parameters Results Sample I Sample II Sample III 1 Physical AppearanceTurbid Turbid Turbid 2 Odour Oweful Oweful Oweful 3 Turbidity (As NTU) 2.80 3.50 4.20 4 pH 8.40 7.64 6.84 5 Chlorides 542.20 57.82 47.32 6 Nitrate 21.30 30.00 32.00 7 Nitrites Traces Traces Traces 8 Total Hardness 640.00 650.00 670.00 9 Permanent Hardness 220.00 250.00 260.00 10 Total Dissolved Solids 2041.00 1080.00 860.00 11 Iron Nil 0.40 0.45 12 Fluorides 0.80 1.70 1.60 13 Alkalinity 420.00 410.00 390.00 14 Total Suspended Solids 559.00 40.00 1580.00 15 BOD 1520.00 1380.00 1864.00 16 COD 1860.00 620.00 3168.00 17 Total Solids 2600 1120.00 2440.00 International Research Journal of Environment Sciences______________________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414 Vol. 2(12), 25-28, December (2013) Int. Res. J. Environment Sci. International Science Congress Association 27 Physical characters of the lonar lake soil sample are soil composition [sand9.01, slit 45.52, clay 55.03], moisture 7, partial density 3.95, apparent density 2.15, porosity 63.50, volume expansion 34.80, water holding capacity 70.02, conductivity 0.109, color : gray, texture : sandy clay [table-2]. Chemical characters of lonar lake soil sample are pH 9.5, salinity 0.96, organic carbon 0.63, available nitrogen 141.98, available phosphorus 50, available potassium 784, total calcium 36, total magnesium 18, total sodium 0.15, free calcium 5.77, copper 2.49, iron 10.41, mangnese 12, zinc 2.48, sulpher 8.7, boron 0.79 [table-3]. Conclusion From these observations we can say that the alkalinity of the lonar lake is decreseing as the pH is ranging between 8.4 to 9.5 and calcium magnesium and sodium concentrations are minimum; due to which salinity of the soil is not high. But the water sample is having high chlorides, hardness and salinity due to which the alkalinity of the water is in higher range. But these reports are not as high as previous reports of scientists on lonar lake water and showing a continuous decrease in the salinity and chlorides of the lake water18. The Lonar Lake is unique in the world for its alkalinity and salinity of the water but it was seen that chlorides and salinity of the Lake water is decreasing day by day18. Table-2 Lonar Lake Soil Analysis [Physical Parameters] Sr. No. Parameters Results Sample I Sample II Sample III 1 Sand 7.00% 8.05% 9.01% 2 Slit 41.52% 41.02% 45.52% 3 Clay 49.51% 49.03% 55.03% 4 Moisture 6.00% 5.85% 7.00% 5 Water holding capacity 61.24% 61.20% 70.02% 6 Partial Density 3.38% 3.30% 3.95% 7 Apparent density 1.31% 1.50% 2.15% 8 Porosity 63.20% 63.50% 63.04% 9 Volume Expansion 34.65% 34.80% 33.04% Table-3 Lonar Lake Soil Analysis [Chemical Parameters] Sr. No. Parameters Results Sample I Sample II Sample III 1 pH 7.9 7.99 7.8 2 Salinity 0.327 0.331 0.96% 3 Organic Carbon 0.57 0.25 0.63 4 Available Nitrogen Nil Nil 141.98 5 Available Phosphorus 30 50 9.8 6 Available Potassium 376 784 500.25 7 Total Calcium 36 Nil Nil 8 Total Magnesium 18 Nil Nil 9 Total Sodium 0.15 Nil Nil 10 Free Calcium 5.77 Nil 2.6 11 Copper 2.49 Nil 2.49 12 Iron 10.41 Nil 0.547 13 Manganese 12 Nil 13.67 14 Zinc 2.48 Nil 1.314 15 Conductivity Nil Nil 0.109 16 Sulpher Nil Nil 8.7 17 Boron Nil Nil 0.79 International Research Journal of Environment Sciences______________________________________________ ISSN 2319–1414 Vol. 2(12), 25-28, December (2013) Int. 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