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Carbonate Accretion Processes, Conservation and Enjoyment of the ‘Mannute Caves’ Geoheritage Site (Salento, Southern Italy)

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Abstract

The Mannute Caves (Salento, Italy) are a karst system that can only be reached using vertical rope techniques for caving and, hence, are not suitable for tourist visits because of their inaccessibility. New texture, geochemistry and age data of a peculiar type of carbonate accretion known as ‘bulky stalactites’ are presented here. Based on previous topographic surveys and observations on calcareous tufas, new geological data enables us to infer the palaeo-environmental history of the Mannute Piccola Cave. The present location of the bulky stalactites, close to the entrance of the cave, is in disagreement with an accretion process which requires sciophilous conditions. Based on U-Th dating, the growth of the bulky stalactites can be shown to have occurred in the Holocene and ended abruptly when the entrance of the cave was enlarged, probably due to a rockslide. The growing demand for geotourism in Salento suggests that management guidelines are required for coastal cave attractions, along with strategies to protect and evaluate the Mannute Piccola Cave as a potential geosite. Improved geological knowledge of the cave should be seen as a preliminary stage for geoheritage promotion through information communication technology (ICT) strategies, with the aim being to integrate the site within regional networks for cultural heritage enjoyment.

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Acknowledgments

Cave exploration and the survey were carried out by the ‘Neretino Spelelogical Group’ (Nardò). The sampling of accretions was performed in collaboration with the Speleologic-Alpine-Fluvial Corp of the Fireman Brigade of Lecce. We are grateful to E. Selmo (University of Parma) for the carbon and oxygen isotope data and to M. Mattioli (University of Urbino) for the X-ray diffractometric analyses. C. Roselli and M.A. Meli (University of Urbino) are also thanked for their assistance during the alpha spectrometry analysis. We are grateful to the anonymous reviewers and to the editor for their constructive comments and suggestions.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Istituto di Scienze dell’Atmosfera e del Clima, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Marco Delle Rose

  2. Dipartimento di Scienze Biomolecolari, Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029, Urbino, Italy

    Donatella Desideri

  3. Gruppo Speleologico Neretino, 73048, Nardò, Italy

    Marco Patianna

  4. Dipartimento di Scienze e Tecnologie Biologiche ed Ambientali, Università del Salento, 73100, Lecce, Italy

    Marcello Emilio Posi

  5. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, della Vita e dell’Ambiente, Università degli Studi di Urbino Carlo Bo, 61029, Urbino, Italy

    Alberto Renzulli

  6. Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università degli Studi di Pisa, 56126 , Pisa, Italy

    Giovanni Zanchetta

Authors
  1. Marco Delle Rose
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  2. Donatella Desideri
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  3. Marco Patianna
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  4. Marcello Emilio Posi
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  5. Alberto Renzulli
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  6. Giovanni Zanchetta
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Correspondence to Marcello Emilio Posi.

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Rose, M.D., Desideri, D., Patianna, M. et al. Carbonate Accretion Processes, Conservation and Enjoyment of the ‘Mannute Caves’ Geoheritage Site (Salento, Southern Italy). Geoheritage 6, 257–269 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-014-0117-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12371-014-0117-9

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