Speleothems in gypsum caves and their paleoclimatological significance

Calaforra, J. M.; Forti, Paolo; Fernández-Cortés, Ángel

doi:10.1007/s00254-007-0737-3

Cited by 26 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…10). Their relative abundance mainly depends on climate (Calaforra et al, 2008). In a temperate humid climate calcite speleothems prevail, while where evaporation dominates (in warmer and more arid conditions), gypsum speleothems become more abundant.…”

Section: Speleothemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaporite karst in Italy: a review

Waele¹,

Piccini²,

Columbu³

et al. 2017

IJS

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Abstract:Although outcropping rarely in Italy, evaporite (gypsum and anhydrite) karst has been described in detail since the early 20 th century. Gypsum caves are now known from almost all Italian regions, but are mainly localised along the northern border of the Apennine chain (Emilia Romagna and Marche), Calabria, and Sicily, where the major outcrops occur. Recently, important caves have also been discovered in the underground gypsum mines in Piedmont. During the late 80s and 90s several multidisciplinary studies were carried out in many gypsum areas, resulting in a comprehensive overview, promoting further research in these special karst regions. More recent and detailed studies focused on the gypsum areas of Emilia-Romagna and Sicily. Sinkholes related to Permian-Triassic gypsum have been studied in Friuli Venezia Giulia. This article reviews the state of the art regarding different aspects of evaporite karst in Italy focusing on the main new results.

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Section: Speleothemsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evaporite karst in Italy: a review

Waele¹,

Piccini²,

Columbu³

et al. 2017

IJS

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“…In humid climates or during heavy precipitation a relatively rapid speleothem growth may occur, whereas in arid climates or during drought the growth is moderated or ceased. Hence, the composition, abundance and growth pattern of speleothems may be indicative of climate changes, as reported by several authors [25][26][27][28][29].…”

Section: Applied Gas Chromatography Coupled To Isotope Ratio Mass Spementioning

confidence: 76%

“…Speleothems, or secondary mineral deposits found in caves, are formed due to dissolution of primary minerals from the host rock and subsequent precipitation. Their formation is greatly prompted by water-rock interactions and climate conditions, which dictate how much water drip into the cave system [25]. In humid climates or during heavy precipitation a relatively rapid speleothem growth may occur, whereas in arid climates or during drought the growth is moderated or ceased.…”

Section: Applied Gas Chromatography Coupled To Isotope Ratio Mass Spementioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, the internal structure of many cave corals, or coralloids, found in lava tube caves shows deposition layers with different mineralogical compositions, alternating between siliceous and carbonate minerals [27,35]. This intercalation has been attributed to changes in the pH or chemical composition of dripping water, environmental changes of the surface area overlying caves and diagenesis [25,27,36,37].…”

Section: Applied Gas Chromatography Coupled To Isotope Ratio Mass Spementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The morphology, mineralogy and genesis of speleothems from lava tubes have been investigated by several researchers using conventional mineralogical and isotope analyses [25,27,32]. Analysis of δ 13 C has been successfully applied to characterize the calcite fraction of speleothems.…”

Section: Applied Gas Chromatography Coupled To Isotope Ratio Mass Spementioning

confidence: 99%

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Analytical pyrolysis and stable isotope analyses reveal past environmental changes in coralloid speleothems from Easter Island (Chile)

Miller

Rosa

Morillo

et al. 2016

Journal of Chromatography A

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This study comprises an innovative approach based on the combination of chromatography (analytical pyrolysis and pyrolysis compound-specific isotope analysis (Py-CSIA)), light stable isotopes, microscopy and mineralogy analyses to characterize the internal layering of coralloid speleothems from the Ana Heva lava tube in Easter Island (Chile). This multidisciplinary proxy showed that the speleothems consist of banded siliceous materials of low crystallinity with different mineralogical compositions and a significant contribution of organic carbon. Opal-A constitutes the outermost grey layer of the coralloids, whereas calcite and amorphous Mg hydrate silicate are the major components of the inner whitish and honey-brown layers, respectively. The differences found in the mineralogical, elemental, molecular and isotopic composition of these distinct coloured layers are related to environmental changes during speleothem development. Stable isotopes and analytical pyrolysis 3 suggested alterations in the water regime, pointing to wetter conditions during the formation of the Ca-rich layer and a possible increase in the amount of water dripping into the cave. The trend observed for δ 15 N values suggested an increase in the average temperature over time, which is consistent with the so-called climate warming during the Holocene.The pyrolysis compound-specific isotope analysis of each speleothem layer showed a similar trend with the bulk δ 13 C values pointing to the appropriateness of direct Py-CSIA in paleoenvironmental studies. The δ 13 C values for n-alkanes reinforced the occurrence of a drastic environmental change, indicating that the outermost Opal layer was developed under drier and more arid environmental conditions.

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Cave Deposits

2022

Karst Hydrogeology, Geomorphology and Caves

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Speleothems in gypsum caves and their paleoclimatological significance

Cited by 26 publications

References 19 publications

Evaporite karst in Italy: a review

Evaporite karst in Italy: a review

Analytical pyrolysis and stable isotope analyses reveal past environmental changes in coralloid speleothems from Easter Island (Chile)

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