Morphology, composition, age and origin of carbonate spherulites from caves of Western Urals

Chaykovskiy, I. I.; Kadebskaya, Olga; Žák, Karel

doi:10.1134/s0016702914020049

Cited by 6 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Rafts are generally flat and composed of interlocking crystals in a manner similar to floating carbonate minerals reported from non-cryogenic cave environments 29 . Crystal splitting has been invoked as a mechanism for the growth of spherical forms 30 , which are sometimes superimposed on a branching, sheaf-life skeleton 31 . Finally, spherules are reported to display smooth surfaces, and often connect during growth to form dumbbell shapes 23 or chains 24 .…”

Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cryogenic cave carbonate and implications for thawing permafrost at Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA

Munroe

Kimble

Spötl

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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Winter Wonderland Cave contains perennial ice associated with two types of cryogenic cave carbonate (CCC) formed during the freezing of water. CCCfine is characterized by relatively high δ13C values, whereas CCCcoarse exhibits notably low δ18O values indicating precipitation under (semi)closed-system conditions in a pool of residual water beneath an ice lid. Previous work has concluded that CCCcoarse forms during permafrost thaw, making the presence of this precipitate a valuable indicator of past cryospheric change. Available geochronologic evidence indicates that CCC formation in this cave is a Late Holocene or contemporary process, and field observations suggest that the cave thermal regime recently changed in a manner that permits the ingress of liquid water. This is the first documented occurence of CCCcoarse in the Western Hemisphere and one of only a few locations where these minerals have been found in association with ice. Winter Wonderland Cave is a natural laboratory for studying CCC genesis.

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Section: Results and Interpretationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cryogenic cave carbonate and implications for thawing permafrost at Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA

Munroe

Kimble

Spötl

et al. 2021

Sci Rep

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“…from approximately 10 to 10 000, e.g. Žák et al, 2009;Chaykovskiy et al, 2014;Spötl and Cheng, 2014;Munroe et al, 2021).…”

Section: Th/u Analysesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Since the early 2000s, more than 20 studies have published 230 Th/U ages of CCCs, commonly from multiple samples, and interpreted them with regard to regional permafrost conditions (e.g. Richter and Riechelmann, 2008;Žák et al, 2009;Richter et al, 2010;Žák et al, 2012;Orvošová et al, 2014;Spötl and Cheng, 2014;Chaykovskiy et al, 2014;Richter et al, 2018;Koltai et al, 2021;Spötl et al, 2021). However, reported ages from a given patch of CCCs have rarely been synchronous and have sometimes spanned thousands of years and different climatic events (Luetscher et al, 2013;Dublyansky et al, 2018).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

²³⁰Th ∕ U isochron dating of cryogenic cave carbonates

et al. 2022

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Cryogenic cave carbonates (CCCs) are a type of speleothem, typically dated with 230 Th/U disequilibrium methods, that provide evidence of palaeo-permafrost conditions. In the field, CCCs occur as distinct patches of millimetre-to centimetre-sized loose crystals and crystal aggregates on the floors of cave chambers, so they lack a framework that would allow ages to be validated by stratigraphic order. Correction factors for the initial 230 Th ( 230 Th 0 ) are often based on the bulk-earth-derived initial 230 Th/ 232 Th activity ratio (( 230 Th/ 232 Th) 0 ), which is a well-established approach when 230 Th 0 is moderately low. For samples with elevated levels of 230 Th 0 , however, accuracy can be improved by constraining ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) 0 independently. Here, we combine detailed morphological observations from three CCC patches found in Water Icicle Close Cavern in the Peak District (UK) with 230 Th/U analyses. We find that individual CCC crystals show a range of morphologies that arise from non-crystallographic branching in response to the chemical evolution of the freezing solution. Results of 230 Th/U dating indicate that samples with a large surface area relative to the sample volume are systematically more affected by contamination with 230 Th 0 . By fitting isochrons to these results, we test whether the CCCs in a patch formed during the same freezing event, and demonstrate that ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) 0 can deviate substantially from the bulk-earth-derived value and can also vary between the different CCC patches. Where CCCs display elevated 230 Th 0 , isochrons are a useful tool to constrain ( 230 Th/ 232 Th) 0 and obtain ages with improved accuracy. Detritus absorbed to the crystal surface is shown to be the most likely source of 230 Th 0 . Our results suggest that some previously published CCC ages may merit re-assessment, and we provide suggestions on how to approach future dating efforts.

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“…Rafts are generally at and composed of interlocking crystals in a manner similar to oating carbonate minerals reported from non-cryogenic cave environments 27 . Crystal splitting has been invoked as a mechanism for the growth of spherical forms 28 , which are sometimes superimposed on a branching, sheaf-life skeleton 29 . Finally, spherules are reported to display smooth surfaces, and often connect during growth to form dumbbell shapes 21 or chains 22 .…”

Section: Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA: A Natural Laboratory for the Study of Cryogenic Cave Carbonate and Thawing Permafrost

Munroe¹,

Kimble²,

Spötl³

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Winter Wonderland Cave contains perennial ice associated with two types of cryogenic cave carbonate (CCC) formed during the freezing of water. CCCfine is characterized by relatively enriched δ13C values, whereas CCCcoarse exhibits notably depleted δ18O values indicating precipitation under (semi)closed-system conditions in a pool of residual water beneath an ice lid. Previous work has concluded that CCCcoarse forms during permafrost thaw, making the presence of this precipitate a valuable indicator of past cryospheric change. Available geochronologic evidence indicates that CCC formation in this cave is a Late Holocene or contemporary process, and field observations suggest that the cave thermal regime recently changed in a manner that permits the ingress of liquid water. This is the first documented occurence of CCCcoarse in the Western Hemisphere and one of only a few locations where these minerals have been found in association with ice. Winter Wonderland Cave is a natural laboratory for studying CCC genesis.

show abstract

Morphology, composition, age and origin of carbonate spherulites from caves of Western Urals

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Cryogenic cave carbonate and implications for thawing permafrost at Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA

Cryogenic cave carbonate and implications for thawing permafrost at Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA

²³⁰Th ∕ U isochron dating of cryogenic cave carbonates

Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA: A Natural Laboratory for the Study of Cryogenic Cave Carbonate and Thawing Permafrost

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Morphology, composition, age and origin of carbonate spherulites from caves of Western Urals

Cited by 6 publications

References 10 publications

Cryogenic cave carbonate and implications for thawing permafrost at Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA

Cryogenic cave carbonate and implications for thawing permafrost at Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA

230Th ∕ U isochron dating of cryogenic cave carbonates

Winter Wonderland Cave, Utah, USA: A Natural Laboratory for the Study of Cryogenic Cave Carbonate and Thawing Permafrost

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²³⁰Th ∕ U isochron dating of cryogenic cave carbonates