A team of Czech scientists have discovered the world's largest underground thermal lake in Southern Albania and have named it Neuron Lake, after the foundation that funded the expedition, writes Danny Bate in an article published in "Czech Radio".
Within the valleys of the mountainous border areas between Greece and Albania, Czech scientists have been exploring complex underground conditions for several years.
In the Vromoner region, on the Albanian side of the border, they encountered an extensive cave system in 2021, which they have since mapped in detail.
The system contains many hot springs that emit tall columns of steam, and tracking the source of the steam led them to the discovery of a chasm over 100 meters deep, which they named Atmos.
At the bottom of that abyss, the team has confirmed the discovery of the world's largest underground thermal lake to date.
With a length of 138 meters, a width of 42 meters and a circumference of 345 meters, it can hold 8,335 m3 of hot water.
The size of the lake room is three times larger than the main hall of the National Theater in Prague.
Mapping the cave system and discovering the lake required technical equipment, which was made possible by the "Neuron Foundation".
The Czech scientific funding organization gave the expedition nearly 1 million Czech crowns, donated by private benefactors, and now the Albanian underground lake has been named Neuron, in honor of the foundation.
Richard Bouda, a photographer and speleologist, describes how the discovery was made: "During the initial exploration, we created a base map using the equipment we had. We knew right away that we had discovered something really special."
"Thanks to the Neuron Foundation, we purchased a mobile LIDAR scanner, which allowed us to measure the entire cave and the entire lake area. We will also collaborate with hydrologists who will measure the underwater part of that lake using a sonar - a system for detecting underwater objects," he said.
The Czech team used the latest technology, "GeoSlam" - a type of 3D scanning technology, creating accurate models of the cave.
The process by which the cave containing the lake was made is also unusual.
The lake's mineral water is saturated with hydrogen sulfide, which, in contact with air, oxidizes and produces sulfuric acid – which repeatedly turns limestone into soft gypsum.
"The work of the Czech team in Albania will contribute to a better understanding of this rare type of cave formation and there is a lot of work to be done there," said Richard Bouda:
"Thanks to the scientists we work with, we know that the surrounding springs are fed by water from the lake," he added.
"We believe that this discovery could also contribute to the protection of the entire area and to a better understanding of its hydrology – as to date no one knows exactly how these groundwaters are connected to the surface," he said.
