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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Concentration And Stable Carbon Isotopic Composition Of Co2 In Cave Air Of Postojnska Jama, Slovenia, Magda Mandić, Andrej Mihevc, Albrecht Leis, Ines Krajcar Bronić Sep 2013

Concentration And Stable Carbon Isotopic Composition Of Co2 In Cave Air Of Postojnska Jama, Slovenia, Magda Mandić, Andrej Mihevc, Albrecht Leis, Ines Krajcar Bronić

International Journal of Speleology

Partial pressure of CO2 (pCO2) and its isotopic composition (δ13CairCO2) were measured in Postojnska jama, Slovenia, at 10 locations inside the cave and outside the cave during a one-year period. At all interior locations the pCO2 was higher and δ13CairCO2 lower than in the outside atmosphere. Strong seasonal fluctuations in both parameters were observed at locations deeper in the cave, which are isolated from the cave air circulation. By using a binary mixing model of two sources of CO2, one of them being the atmospheric CO2 …


Cave Ventilation Is Influenced By Variations In The Co2-Dependent Virtual Temperature, Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete, Penélope Serrano-Ortiz, Francisco Domingo, Andrew S. Kowalski Jan 2013

Cave Ventilation Is Influenced By Variations In The Co2-Dependent Virtual Temperature, Enrique P. Sánchez-Cañete, Penélope Serrano-Ortiz, Francisco Domingo, Andrew S. Kowalski

International Journal of Speleology

Dynamics and drivers of ventilation in caves are of growing interest for different fields of science. Accumulated CO2 in caves can be exchanged with the atmosphere, modifying the internal CO2 content, affecting stalagmite growth rates, deteriorating rupestrian paintings or creating new minerals. Current estimates of cave ventilation neglect the role of high CO2 concentrations in determining air density – approximated via the virtual temperature (Tv) –, affecting buoyancy and therefore the release or storage of CO2. Here we try to improve knowledge and understanding of cave ventilation through the use of T …