The NSS Bulletin - ISSN 1090-6924
Volume 44 Number 4: 112-117 - October 1982
A publication of the National Speleological Society

Climatic Fluctuations Influence the Genesis and Diagenesis of Carbonate Speleothems in Southwestern France
Patrick Cabrol and Jean Coudray

Abstract

French caves containing aragonite are virtually all located in the south and are restricted to dolomites or dolomitic limestones. Besides speleothems containing one or several minerals as a result of diagenesis, there are occasionally found complex speleothems displaying mineralogic evolution by the successive deposition of different minerals. The spatial and temporal distribution of these speleothems with respect to their morphology and, especially, minealogic features suggest that there exist cycles of primary deposition and diagenetic alteration associated with variations in local climate or microclimate caused by regional climatic changes. It is possible to correlate cycles of deposition from one cave to another.

This page last updated: 9 June, 2002 7:25
Web Author: Jim Pisarowicz