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On the origin of fiber calcite crystals in moonmilk deposits

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Abstract

In this study, we show that moonmilk subaerial speleothems in Altamira Cave (Spain) consist of a network of fiber calcite crystals and active microbial structures. In Altamira moonmilks, the study of the typology and distribution of fiber crystals, extracellular polymeric substances, and microorganisms allowed us to define the initial stages of fiber crystal formation in recent samples as well as the variations in the microstructural arrangement in more evolved stages. Thus, we have been able to show the existence of a relationship among the different types of fiber crystals and their origins. This allowed us to outline a model that illustrates the different stages of formation of the moonmilk, developed on different substrata, concluding that microbes influence physicochemical precipitation, resulting in a variety of fiber crystal morphologies and sizes.

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Acknowledgements

This research was supported by the Ministry of Education and Science, project BTE2002-04492-C02. SSM and JMG were supported by Ramon y Cajal contracts, and LL by an I3P contract.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Unidad Asociada CSIC-UA, Laboratorio de Petrologia Aplicada, Departamento de Ciencias de la Tierra, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain

    Juan Carlos Cañaveras

  2. Departamento de Geologia, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, CSIC, Madrid, Spain

    Soledad Cuezva & Sergio Sanchez-Moral

  3. Facultad de Ciencias del Medio Ambiente, Universidad de Castilla-La Mancha, Toledo, Spain

    Javier Lario

  4. Instituto de Recursos Naturales y Agrobiologia, CSIC, Sevilla, Spain

    Leonila Laiz, Juan Miguel Gonzalez & Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez

Authors
  1. Juan Carlos Cañaveras
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  2. Soledad Cuezva
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  3. Sergio Sanchez-Moral
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  4. Javier Lario
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  5. Leonila Laiz
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  6. Juan Miguel Gonzalez
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  7. Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Cesareo Saiz-Jimenez.

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Cañaveras, J.C., Cuezva, S., Sanchez-Moral, S. et al. On the origin of fiber calcite crystals in moonmilk deposits. Naturwissenschaften 93, 27–32 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-005-0052-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-005-0052-3

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