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Full-Text Articles in Speleology
An Attempt To Identify Source Areas Of Clastic Deposits From Selected Caves Of The Prokletije Mountains (Montenegro): A Mineralogical And U-Series Geochemistry Approach, Ditta Kicińska, Jacek Pawlak, Jacek Stienss
An Attempt To Identify Source Areas Of Clastic Deposits From Selected Caves Of The Prokletije Mountains (Montenegro): A Mineralogical And U-Series Geochemistry Approach, Ditta Kicińska, Jacek Pawlak, Jacek Stienss
International Journal of Speleology
The Prokletije Mountains/Albanian Alps are the highest part of the Dinaric Mountains. Paradoxically, these mountains and their cave areas remain among the most enigmatic in Europe, having only recently become subjects of scientific research and cave exploration. This paper focuses on the Kolata and Greben massifs, where the highest, and thus the oldest, cave systems are located. Through the analysis of heavy mineral composition, the apatite-tourmaline index, and cluster analysis for mineralogical composition and uranium isotopic data, it becomes possible to identify the source areas for the cave clastic deposits. It also allow to distinguish multiple paleoflow directions, each corresponding …
Speleothems In Sandstone Crevice And Boulder Caves Of The Elbe River Canyon, Czech Republic, Jiří Adamovič, Jaroslav Kukla, Michal Filippi, Roman Skála, Noemi Mészárosová
Speleothems In Sandstone Crevice And Boulder Caves Of The Elbe River Canyon, Czech Republic, Jiří Adamovič, Jaroslav Kukla, Michal Filippi, Roman Skála, Noemi Mészárosová
International Journal of Speleology
A variety of speleothems are present in crevice and boulder caves developed in Cretaceous sandstones of the Elbe River Canyon in northern Czech Republic. A set of complementary instrumental mineralogical methods was applied to characterize the speleothems and cave dripwaters, including X-ray powder diffraction, scanning electron microscopy and microanalysis, Raman spectroscopy and optical emission spectrometry. Four morphological types were distinguished and characterized in terms of their mineral and chemical composition: 1, rusty brown mud-dominated coatings with micro-gours, composed of a mixture of clay minerals; 2, white “chalky” coatings (moonmilk) composed of calcite with minor gypsum; 3, cauliflower-shaped coralloids composed of …
Speleothems In Quartz-Sandstone Caves Of Ponta Grossa Municipality, Campos Gerais Region, Paraná State, Southern Brazil, Henrique S. Pontes, Luiz A. Fernandes, Mário S. De Melo, Gilson B. Guimarães, Laís L. Massuqueto
Speleothems In Quartz-Sandstone Caves Of Ponta Grossa Municipality, Campos Gerais Region, Paraná State, Southern Brazil, Henrique S. Pontes, Luiz A. Fernandes, Mário S. De Melo, Gilson B. Guimarães, Laís L. Massuqueto
International Journal of Speleology
The present communication characterizes and discusses the genesis of cave speleothems developed in Furnas Formation (Silurian-Devonian) and Vila Velha sub-unit (Campo Mourão Formation, Upper Carboniferous) quartz-sandstones, in southern Brazil. The research, which involved stratigraphic and petrographic studies, was conducted to identify the faciological context of occurrence of these features, and to determine, through different analytical methods, their mineralogical composition and porosity, and also the action of microbial markers on the genesis of these secondary mineral deposits. The speleothems were classified into six types based on form, composition and genesis: (1) arborescent (coral), (2) mushroom-shaped, (3) stalactitic, (4) stalagmitic, (5) columnar …
Active Growth Of Non-Hydrothermal Subaqueous And Subaerial Barite (Baso4) Speleothems In Lechuguilla Cave (New Mexico, Usa), Max Wisshak, Hazel A. Barton, Katey E. Bender, Harvey R. Duchene
Active Growth Of Non-Hydrothermal Subaqueous And Subaerial Barite (Baso4) Speleothems In Lechuguilla Cave (New Mexico, Usa), Max Wisshak, Hazel A. Barton, Katey E. Bender, Harvey R. Duchene
International Journal of Speleology
Barite (BaSO4) speleothems have been reported from caves around the globe and interpreted to have chiefly formed in phreatic, hypogene, hydrothermal settings. Here we report two contrasting types of barite speleothems (bluish tabular crystals in a shallow pool and actively dripping greenish stalactites), which today form at lower temperatures in the non-hydrothermal and vadose environment of Lechuguilla Cave, New Mexico, USA. Scanning electron microscopy analysis, along with energy- and wavelength-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS, WDS), as well as X-ray diffraction (XRD), characterize the habit and chemical composition as barite. Fractionation of the minor element calcium is related to growth …
Petrographical And Geochemical Changes In Bosnian Stalagmites And Their Palaeo-Environmental Significance, Veronica Chiarini, Isabelle Couchoud, Russell Drysdale, Petra Bajo, Simone Milanolo, Silvia Frisia, Alan Greig, John Hellstrom, Jo De Waele
Petrographical And Geochemical Changes In Bosnian Stalagmites And Their Palaeo-Environmental Significance, Veronica Chiarini, Isabelle Couchoud, Russell Drysdale, Petra Bajo, Simone Milanolo, Silvia Frisia, Alan Greig, John Hellstrom, Jo De Waele
International Journal of Speleology
Detailed petrographic observations have been coupled with trace element and δ13C - δ18O analyses in order to investigate their dynamics in two Holocene Bosnian speleothems. The potential of this multiproxy approach in providing a means to extract palaeo-environmental information from stalagmites whose stable isotope signals are noisy and without obvious trends has been tested. The studied stalagmites are mostly characterized by columnar microcrystalline fabric. At the sub-millimetre scale of lamination, different microcrystalline columnar sub-types (open and closed) have been detected and classified on the basis of the observed porosity and the crystallite size. The presence of …