Foraminiferal monitoring of the new submarine hydrothermal system off the western Pontine Islands (central Tyrrhenian Sea)

The recent discovery of a giant complex venting depression, placed in shallow-waters (<150 m wd) of the Pontine Archipelago (Tyrrhenian Sea, Italy), represents a natural laboratory to study fluid vent (mainly regarding the CO2 emission) impact on meio- and microbenthic communities and to evaluate the effects of ocean acidification (Ingrassia et al, 2015). In the first study (Di Bella et al., 2016) a transitional condition between vent influenced sedimentation and the typical carbonate sedimentation was highlighted. Moreover micropaleontological results suggest a spreading of the venting activity from the northern to southern sectors of the study area.. The aim of this study is provide new and relevant information regarding both fluid emission activity (changes in composition, concentration and spreading) and the occurrence of peculiar biota living in a such natural stressed environment.