Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/932864

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Title
Petrology and geochemistry of annually laminated stalagmites from an Alpine cave (Obir, Austria): seasonal cave physiology
Author/Creator
Fairchild, Ian J.;  Spotl, Christoph;  Frisia, Silvia;  Borsato, Andrea;  Susini, Jean;  Wynn, Peter M.;  Cauzid, Jean;  EIMF (Edinburgh Ion Microprobe Facility)
Institution
The University of Newcastle. Faculty of Science & Information Technology, School of Environmental and Life Sciences
Description
Seasonality is encoded in palaeoproxies of secondary cave mineral deposits (speleothems) and the code is becoming cracked. The petrology of calcite stalagmites from Obir, an Alpine (1100 m altitude), perennially wet cave, was characterized by optical and electron backscatter diffraction, and their chemistry by bulk ICP-MS analysis, ion microprobe and synchrotron-based micro-X-ray fluorescence. Vadose water penetrates 70 m through Triassic limestones (with some Pb–Zn mineralization) to the chamber Säulenhalle where the stalagmites were collected. Strong seasonal ventilation in the cave leads to low PCO₂ in winter associated with falls in speleothem sulphate S and increase in δ¹³C values. All samples display autumnal event lamination defined by a narrow, optically visible zone with increases in trace element concentrations, within which synchrotron studies have resolved μm-scale enrichments of Pb and Zn. Small-scale (10 µm) lateral trace element variations reflect alternate flat faces and rough crystal edges, influenced by high Zn content. The elemental covariations are consistent with the transport of Pb, Zn, P, F, Br and I adsorbed onto organic colloids in dripwater, but the final deposition may have been from aerosols and we propose this as a new mechanism requiring further investigation. This study represents the most complete demonstration of how chemical variations are powerful expressions of seasonal cave physiology in humid temperate caves, including the contrast between summer and winter conditions, and the preservation of sub-weekly events during the autumn season.
Relation
Tufas and Speleothems: Unravelling the Microbial and Physical Controls p. 295-321
Relation
http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/336/1/295.abstract
Date
2010
Publisher
Geological Society Publishing House
Keyword(s)
seasonal cave physiology;  speleothems;  Obir (Austria);  stalagmites;  petrology;  geochemistry
Resource Type
book chapter
Identifier
http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/932864
Identifier
ISBN:9781862393011
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"Petrology and geochemistry of annually laminated stalagmites from an Alpine cave (Obir, Austria): seasonal cave physiology"
 
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