On the Genesis of Aluminum-Rich Speleothems in a Granite Cave of NW Spain
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On the Genesis of Aluminum-Rich Speleothems in a Granite Cave of NW SpainAuthor(s)
Date
2021-02-22Citation
Sanjurjo-Sanchez, Jorge; Carlos Arce Chamorro; Juan Ramón Vidal Romaní; Marcos Vaqueiro-Rodríguez; Victor Barrientos; and Joeri Kaal. 2021. On the genesis of aluminum-rich speleothems in a granite cave of NW Spain. International Journal of Speleology, 50: 25-40. Available at: https://scholarcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol50/iss1/3
Abstract
[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.
Keywords
Pseudokarst
Cave minerals
Organic matter
Al-rich speleothems
Cave minerals
Organic matter
Al-rich speleothems
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Atribución-NoComercial 4.0 Internacional
ISSN
1827-806X