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Cave Minerals and Speleothems

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Australian Caves and Karst Systems

Part of the book series: Cave and Karst Systems of the World ((CAKASYWO))

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Abstract

Australian caves have an astonishing variety of cave minerals and a breathtaking range of world-class speleothems. Altogether 71 cave minerals are recorded here; of these eight were first described from Australian caves. By far the most abundant cave mineral is calcite, followed by aragonite and gypsum, and, on the Nullarbor, halite. There are 44 minerals found in Australian caves that only occur associated with guano. Australian cave minerals have been studied since the late nineteenth century, and new minerals are still being found. Calcite speleothems in Australian caves occur as four basic categories: those deposited by seeping and/or flowing water, still water, capillary water and condensation water. To interpret past climate and environmental data from calcite speleothems, the sequentially deposited layers must be dated; three main dating techniques are available, of which one, U/Pb, was developed in Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. 41 Northwood Street, Camperdown, NSW, 2050, Australia

    Julia M. James

  2. Discipline of Ecology and Environment, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, 3086, Australia

    John A. Webb

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  1. Julia M. James
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Correspondence to Julia M. James .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environment and Genetics, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    John Webb

  2. Department of Environment and Genetics, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia

    Susan White

  3. Newcastle and Hunter Valley Speleological Society, Broadmeadow, NSW, Australia

    Garry K. Smith

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James, J.M., Webb, J.A. (2023). Cave Minerals and Speleothems. In: Webb, J., White, S., Smith, G.K. (eds) Australian Caves and Karst Systems. Cave and Karst Systems of the World. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-24267-0_19

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