The environmental features of the Monte Corchia cave system (Apuan Alps, central Italy) and their effects on speleothem growth

Abstract

The Monte Corchia cave system, one of the most famous and popular caves in Italy, has in recent times been the subject of investigation on its speleothems as paleoclimate archives. This paper describes the geology, geomorphology and water chemistry of the cave system with the aim to elucidate the processes that have generated these speleothems and the properties they contain that are so useful for paleoclimatology. Some general conclusions can be drawn: i) the Corchia system is a cave developed over different altitudes during progressive uplift of the mountain chain in which it is located, probably under drainage conditions very different to those of the present. This has allowed the development of a large (ca. 60 km) and deep (-1187 m) karst system; ii) the dewatering phases have left the deepest chambers far away from clastic input and with long drip pathways; iii) the peculiar geological context has permitted the water to intercept and dissolve a significant source of U (still unknown) that facilitates radiometric dating; iv) in the last 1 Ma at least, no significant changes have occurred in the relief and in the epikarst, in the sense that speleothems have grown under very similar conditions. In addition the extremely low Ca concentration of drip waters have permitted low speleothem growth rates and, at least for the "Galleria delle Stalattiti", the zone under paleoclimate studies, a stable plumbing system (i.e. chemistry and stable isotopes of drip waters) has produced calcite close to isotopic equilibrium.

13C18O clumping in speleothems: Observations from natural caves and precipitation experiments

“…Drip waters corresponding to the speleothems studied here were (Genty et al, 2001). In Antro del Corchia, a monitoring station located a few meters from Laghetto Basso has been recording temperature and humidity continuously since 1998 (Piccini et al, 2008). Both parameters experience very little variation, and relative humidity is constantly very high (99 ± 1%).…”

“…The pool is located deep within the cave, 400 m underground and 500 m from the nearest entrance. It is fed by local drips, and its chemical composition is virtually constant (Piccini et al, 2008). Its water level is controlled by a sill, so that water depth remains constant throughout the year.…”

Lateglacial to Holocene trace element record (Ba, Mg, Sr) from Corchia Cave (Apuan Alps, central Italy): paleoenvironmental implications

“…Precipitation is predominantly sourced from North Atlantic and western Mediterranean air masses (Drysdale et al ., ). Modern cave water geochemistry at Corchia is well known for the deep chamber of Galleria delle Stalattiti (GdS; Piccini et al ., ; Baneschi et al ., ; Fig. ), from where CC26 was collected.…”

Humid climate during deposition of sapropel 1 in the Mediterranean Sea: Assessing the influence on the Alps

“…The starting point of our transect is Corchia Cave (Antro del Corchia) in the Apuan Alps of NW Tuscany, an extensive high-altitude cave system (Piccini et al, 2008) from which a stalagmite (CC26) was retrieved. The key feature of this well-dated stalagmite, which grew between 11.3 and 0.8 ka, is an interval of low δ 18 O values between ca.…”