We found a match
Your institution may have access to this item. Find your institution then sign in to continue.
- Title
On the genesis of aluminum-rich speleothems in a granite cave of NW Spain.
- Authors
Sanjurjo-Sánchez, Jorge; Arce Chamorro, Carlos; Romaní, Juan R. Vidal; Vaqueiro-Rodríguez, Marcos; Barrientos, Victor; Kaal, Joeri
- Abstract
Granite massifs often contain caves, with dimensions ranging from a few meters up to 1,000 m, also referred to as pseudokarst. The speleothems in such caves are mostly composed of either Si-rich (commonly opal-A) or Al-rich authigenic mineraloids. Whereas the formation and geochemical composition of opal-A biospeleothems have been studied and are fairly well understood, knowledge on the Al-rich analogues is scarce. This work reports for the first time a study on the composition, accretion process, age and growth rate of an Al-rich speleothem type flowstone from the A Trapa Cave System (Galicia, NW Spain), developed in a granite cave. To understand the growth process, trickling water was analyzed and the deposition environment inside the cave was characterized. We found that the speleothems are alternating Si- and Al-rich layered deposits formed between 1,635 ± 75 and 1,243 ± 58 cal BP by percolating water that carries underground mineral grains, dissolved ions, and organic matter from soil and the weathered bedrock above the cave.
- Subjects
SPAIN; SPELEOTHEMS; CAVES; GRANITE; CAVING; MINERALS
- Publication
International Journal of Speleology, 2021, Vol 50, Issue 1, p25
- ISSN
0392-6672
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.5038/1827-806X.50.1.2358