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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Bubble Trail And Folia In Cenote Zapote, Mexico: Petrographic Evidence For Abiotic Precipitation Driven By Co2 Degassing Below The Water Table, Rafael López-Martínez, Fernando Gázquez, José M. Calaforra, Philippe Audra, Jean Y. Bigot, Teresa Pi Puig, Rocío J. Alcántara-Hernández, Ángel Navarro, Philippe Crochet, Liliana Corona Martínez, Raquel Daza Brunet Oct 2020

Bubble Trail And Folia In Cenote Zapote, Mexico: Petrographic Evidence For Abiotic Precipitation Driven By Co2 Degassing Below The Water Table, Rafael López-Martínez, Fernando Gázquez, José M. Calaforra, Philippe Audra, Jean Y. Bigot, Teresa Pi Puig, Rocío J. Alcántara-Hernández, Ángel Navarro, Philippe Crochet, Liliana Corona Martínez, Raquel Daza Brunet

International Journal of Speleology

Folia are speleothems that resemble bells, inverted cups, or bracket fungi, and whose origins are still controversial. Cenote Zapote (an underwater cave) in the Yucatán Peninsula (México), is home to some of the largest folia reported to date. These speleothems are currently growing in an active underwater system, meaning this site offers an excellent opportunity to constrain the different formation models proposed for folia, which have traditionally relied on inactive examples. In Cenote Zapote, folia are closely related to bubble trails and cupolas, suggesting an underwater CO2-degassing process. In thin section, they display a succession of columnar-open and …


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 Jun 2020

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 Jan 2020

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 …