Flowstone

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Saracen's tent in Luray Caverns in Virginia is considered to be one of the most well-formed flowstone draperies in the world Saracen's Tent, Luray Caverns.jpg
Saracen's tent in Luray Caverns in Virginia is considered to be one of the most well-formed flowstone draperies in the world

Flowstones are sheetlike deposits of calcite or other carbonate minerals, formed where water flows down the walls or along the floors of a cave. [1] They are typically found in "solution caves", in limestone, where they are the most common speleothem. However, they may form in any type of cave where water enters that has picked up dissolved minerals. Flowstones are formed via the degassing of vadose percolation waters. [2]

Contents

Flowstone may also form on manmade structures as a result of calcium hydroxide being leached from concrete, lime or mortar. These secondary deposits created outside the cave environment, which mimic the shapes and forms of speleothems, are classified as "calthemites" and are associated with concrete degradation. [3]

Formation

Diagram of dripstone cave structures (flowstone labelled AB) Tropfsteine.svg
Diagram of dripstone cave structures (flowstone labelled AB)

Flowing films of water that move along floors or down positive-sloping walls build up layers of calcium carbonate (calcite), aragonite, gypsum, [4] [5] or other cave minerals. These minerals are dissolved in the water and are deposited when the water loses its dissolved carbon dioxide through the mechanism of agitation, meaning it can no longer hold the minerals in solution. The flowstone forms when thin layers of these deposits build on each other, sometimes developing more rounded shapes as the deposit gets thicker.

There are two common forms of flowstones, tufa and travertine. Tufa is usually formed via the precipitation of calcium carbonate, and is spongy or porous in nature. Travertine is a calcium carbonate deposit often formed in creeks or rivers; its nature is laminated, and it includes such structures as stalagmites and stalactites.

The deposits may grade into thin sheets called "draperies" or "curtains" where they descend from overhanging portions of the wall. Some draperies are translucent, and some have brown and beige layers that look much like bacon (often termed "cave bacon").

Though flowstones are among the largest of speleothems, they can still be damaged by a single touch. The oil from human fingers causes the flowing water to avoid the area, which then dries out. Flowstones are also good identifiers of periods of past droughts, since they need some form of water to develop; the lack of that water for long periods of time can leave traces in the rock record via the absence or presence of flowstones, and their detailed structure. [2]

Concrete derived flowstone

Flowstone derived from concrete, lime or mortar, can form on manmade structures, much more rapidly than in the natural cave environment due to the different chemistry involved. [6] On concrete structures, these secondary deposits are the result of concrete degradation, [7] [8] when calcium ions have been leached from the concrete in solution and redeposited on the structure's surface to form flowstone, stalactites and stalagmites. [6] Carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed into the hyperalkaline leachate solution as it emerges from the concrete. This facilitates the chemical reactions which deposits calcium carbonate (CaCO3) on vertical or sloping surfaces, in the form of flowstone. [6] [8]

Concrete derived secondary deposits are classified as "calthemites". [8] These calcium carbonate deposits mimic the forms and shapes of speleothems, created in caves. e.g. stalagmites, stalactites, flowstone etc. It is most likely that calthemite flowstone is precipitated from leachate solution as calcite, "in preference to the other, less stable polymorphs, aragonite and vaterite." [8]

Other trace elements such as iron from rusting reinforcing or copper oxide from pipework may be transported by the leachate and deposited at the same time as the CaCO3. [8] This may cause the calthemites to take on colours of the leached oxides. [9] [8]

Uses

Cave onyx is any of various kinds of flowstone considered desirable for ornamental architectural purposes. "Cave onyx" was a common term in certain areas of the United States—particularly the Tennessee-Alabama-Georgia area and the Ozarks—during the 19th and early 20th centuries, being applied to calcite speleothems that were banded in a way suggestive of true onyx.

There are a number of US caves called "Onyx Cave" because of the presence in them of such deposits.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stalactite</span> Elongated mineral formation hanging down from a cave ceiling

A stalactite is a mineral formation that hangs from the ceiling of caves, hot springs, or man-made structures such as bridges and mines. Any material that is soluble and that can be deposited as a colloid, or is in suspension, or is capable of being melted, may form a stalactite. Stalactites may be composed of lava, minerals, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter, and amberat. A stalactite is not necessarily a speleothem, though speleothems are the most common form of stalactite because of the abundance of limestone caves.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stalagmite</span> Elongate mineral formation found on a cave floor

A stalagmite is a type of rock formation that rises from the floor of a cave due to the accumulation of material deposited on the floor from ceiling drippings. Stalagmites are typically composed of calcium carbonate, but may consist of lava, mud, peat, pitch, sand, sinter, and amberat.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Travertine</span> Form of limestone deposited by mineral springs

Travertine is a form of terrestrial limestone deposited around mineral springs, especially hot springs. It often has a fibrous or concentric appearance and exists in white, tan, cream-colored, and rusty varieties. It is formed by a process of rapid precipitation of calcium carbonate, often at the mouth of a hot spring or in a limestone cave. In the latter, it can form stalactites, stalagmites, and other speleothems. It is frequently used in Italy and elsewhere as a building material. Similar deposits formed from ambient-temperature water are known as tufa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Speleothem</span> Structure formed in a cave by the deposition of minerals from water

A speleothem is a geological formation by mineral deposits that accumulate over time in natural caves. Speleothems most commonly form in calcareous caves due to carbonate dissolution reactions. They can take a variety of forms, depending on their depositional history and environment. Their chemical composition, gradual growth, and preservation in caves make them useful paleoclimatic proxies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Soda straw</span> Mineral tube formation found in caves

A soda straw is a speleothem in the form of a hollow mineral cylindrical tube. They are also known as tubular stalactites. Soda straws grow in places where water leaches slowly through cracks in rock, such as on the roofs of caves. Soda straws in caves rarely grow more than a few millimetres per year and may average one tenth of a millimetre per year. A soda straw can turn into a stalactite if the hole at the bottom is blocked, or if the water begins flowing on the outside surface of the hollow tube. Soda straws can also form outside the cave environment on exposed concrete surfaces as a type of calthemite, growing significantly faster than those formed on rock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Luray Caverns</span> Cave in Virginia, United States

Luray Caverns, previously Luray Cave, is a cave just west of Luray, Virginia, United States, which has drawn many visitors since its discovery in 1878. The cavern system is adorned with speleothems such as columns, mud flows, stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone, and mirrored pools. The caverns host the Great Stalacpipe Organ, a lithophone made from solenoid-fired strikers that tap stalactites of varied sizes to produce tones similar to those of xylophones, tuning forks, or bells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dolomite (rock)</span> Sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite

Dolomite (also known as dolomite rock, dolostone or dolomitic rock) is a sedimentary carbonate rock that contains a high percentage of the mineral dolomite, CaMg(CO3)2. It occurs widely, often in association with limestone and evaporites, though it is less abundant than limestone and rare in Cenozoic rock beds (beds less than about 66 million years in age). The first geologist to distinguish dolomite from limestone was Déodat Gratet de Dolomieu; a French mineralogist and geologist whom it is named after. He recognized and described the distinct characteristics of dolomite in the late 18th century, differentiating it from limestone.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Efflorescence</span> Migration of a salt to the surface of a porous material

In chemistry, efflorescence is the migration of a salt to the surface of a porous material, where it forms a coating. The essential process involves the dissolving of an internally held salt in water, or occasionally in another solvent. The water, with the salt now held in solution, migrates to the surface, then evaporates, leaving a coating of the salt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave popcorn</span> Small nodes of calcite, aragonite or gypsum that form on surfaces in caves

Cave popcorn, or coralloids, are small nodes of calcite, aragonite or gypsum that form on surfaces in caves, especially limestone caves. They are a common type of speleothem.

Calcium bicarbonate, also called calcium hydrogencarbonate, has the chemical formula Ca(HCO3)2. The term does not refer to a known solid compound; it exists only in aqueous solution containing calcium (Ca2+), bicarbonate (HCO
3
), and carbonate (CO2−
3
) ions, together with dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2). The relative concentrations of these carbon-containing species depend on the pH; bicarbonate predominates within the range 6.36–10.25 in fresh water.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave of the Mounds</span> Natural limestone cave in Wisconsin

Cave of the Mounds, a natural limestone cave located near Blue Mounds, Wisconsin, United States, is named for two nearby hills called the Blue Mounds. It is located in the southern slope of the east hill. The cave's beauty comes from its many varieties of mineral formations called speleothems. The Chicago Academy of Sciences considers the Cave of the Mounds to be "the significant cave of the upper Midwest" because of its beauty, and it is promoted as the "jewel box" of major American caves. In 1987, the United States Department of the Interior and the National Park Service designated the cave as a National Natural Landmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anthodite</span> Speleothems composed of long needle-like crystals situated in clusters

Anthodites (Greek ἄνθος ánthos, "flower", -ode, adjectival combining form, -ite adjectival suffix) are speleothems (cave formations) composed of long needle-like crystals situated in clusters which radiate outward from a common base. The "needles" may be quill-like or feathery. Most anthodites are made of the mineral aragonite (a variety of calcium carbonate, CaCO3), although some are composed of gypsum (CaSO4·2H2O).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frostwork</span> Snowflake-like speleothem

In geology, frostwork is a type of speleothem with acicular ("needle-like") growths almost always composed of aragonite or calcite replaced aragonite. It is a variety of anthodite. Frostwork can also be made of opal or gypsum. In some caves frostwork may grow on top of cave popcorn or boxwork.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rimstone</span> Cave formation

Rimstone, also called gours, is a type of speleothem in the form of a stone dam. Rimstone is made up of calcite and other minerals that build up in cave pools. The formation created, which looks like stairs, often extends into flowstone above or below the original rimstone. Often, rimstone is covered with small, micro-gours on horizontal surfaces. Rimstone basins may form terraces that extend over hundreds of feet, with single basins known up to 200 feet long from Tham Xe Biang Fai in Laos.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cave pearl</span> Spherical speleothem concreted concentrically

A cave pearl is a small, usually spherical, speleothem found in limestone caves. Cave pearls are formed by a concretion of calcium salts that form concentric layers around a nucleus. Exposure to moving water polishes the surface of cave pearls, making them glossy; if exposed to the air, cave pearls can degrade and appear rough.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Castellana Caves</span> Karst cave system located in Castellana Grotte, Italy

The Castellana Caves are a karst cave system located in the municipality of Castellana Grotte, in the Metropolitan City of Bari, Apulia, southern Italy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solutional cave</span> Type of cave

A solutional cave, solution cave, or karst cave is a cave usually formed in the soluble rock limestone. It is the most frequently occurring type of cave. It can also form in other rocks, including chalk, dolomite, marble, salt beds, and gypsum.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Concrete degradation</span> Damage to concrete affecting its mechanical strength and its durability

Concrete degradation may have many different causes. Concrete is mostly damaged by the corrosion of reinforcement bars due to the carbonatation of hardened cement paste or chloride attack under wet conditions. Chemical damages are caused by the formation of expansive products produced by various chemical reactions, by aggressive chemical species present in groundwater and seawater, or by microorganisms. Other damaging processes can also involve calcium leaching by water infiltration and different physical phenomena initiating cracks formation and propagation. All these detrimental processes and damaging agents adversely affects the concrete mechanical strength and its durability.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calcite rafts</span> Cave-crystallized calcite crusts

Calcite crystals form on the surface of quiescent bodies of water, even when the bulk water is not supersaturated with respect to calcium carbonate. The crystals grow, attach to one other and appear to be floating rafts of a white, opaque material. The floating materials have been referred to as calcite rafts or "leopard spots".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calthemite</span> Secondary calcium carbonate deposit growing under man-made structures

Calthemite is a secondary deposit, derived from concrete, lime, mortar or other calcareous material outside the cave environment. Calthemites grow on or under, man-made structures and mimic the shapes and forms of cave speleothems, such as stalactites, stalagmites, flowstone etc. Calthemite is derived from the Latin calx "lime" + Latin < Greek théma, "deposit" meaning ‘something laid down’, and the Latin –ita < Greek -itēs – used as a suffix indicating a mineral or rock. The term "speleothem", due to its definition can only be used to describe secondary deposits in caves and does not include secondary deposits outside the cave environment.

References

  1. Hill, C A, and Forti, P, (1997). Cave Minerals of the World, (2nd edition). [Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society Inc.] p.70
  2. 1 2 Drysdale, Russell; Zanchetta, Giovanni; Hellstrom, John; Maas, Roland; Fallick, Anthony; Pickett, Matthew; Cartwright, Ian; Piccini, Leonardo (2006). "Late Holocene drought responsible for the collapse of Old World civilizations is recorded in an Italian cave flowstone". Geology. 34 (2): 101. Bibcode:2006Geo....34..101D. doi:10.1130/G22103.1.
  3. Smith, G.K., (2016). “Calcite Straw Stalactites Growing From Concrete Structures”, Cave and Karst Science, Vol.43, No.1, P.4-10, (April 2016), British Cave Research Association, ISSN 1356-191X.
  4. Hill, C A, and Forti, P, (1997). Cave Minerals of the World, (2nd edition). [Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society Inc.] pp 193 and 196
  5. Szablyár, P., (1981) “Morphogenetics of Umm al Massabih Cave (Libya)”, Karszt és Barlang, No. 1, P27-34. In Hungarian.
  6. 1 2 3 Hill, C A, and Forti, P, (1997). Cave Minerals of the World, (2nd edition). [Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society Inc.] pp. 217 and 225
  7. Macleod, G, Hall, A J and Fallick, A E, (1990). "An applied mineralogical investigation of concrete degradation in a major concrete road bridge". Mineralogical Magazine, Vol.54, 637–644
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Smith G.K., (2016). "Calcite straw stalactites growing from concrete structures", Cave and Karst Science, Vol.43, No.1, P.4-10, (April 2016), British Cave Research Association, ISSN 1356-191X
  9. White W.B., (1997), “Color of Speleothems”, Cave Minerals of the World, (2nd Edition) Hill C. and Forti P. [Huntsville, Alabama: National Speleological Society Inc.] 239-244