Journal article
Paleo-watertable definition using cave ferromanganese stromatolites and associated cave-wall notches (Sierra de Arnero, Spain)
C Rossi, JJ Villalaín, RP Lozano, J Hellstrom
Geomorphology | ELSEVIER | Published : 2016
Abstract
The steeply-dipping-dolostone-hosted caves of the Sierra de Arnero (N Spain) contain low-gradient relict canyons with up to ten mapped levels of ferromanganese stromatolites and associated wall notches over a vertical range of 85 m, the highest occurring ~460 m above base level. Despite a plausible speleogenetic contribution by pyrite oxidation, and the irregular cave-wall mesomorphologies suggestive of hypogenic speleogenesis, the Arnero relict caves are dominantly epigenic, as indicated by the conduit pattern and the abundant allogenic sediments. Allogenic input declined over time due to a piracy-related decrease in the drainage area of allogenic streams, explaining the large size of the r..
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Awarded by Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad
Funding Acknowledgements
Financial support was provided by grants ICT-Soplao-53.5.00.12.00 (IGME - Provincial Government of Cantabria - Turismo del Nansa) and CGL2012-38481 (Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad - European Regional Development Fund). We thank A. Argumosa (El Soplao SL) for greatly facilitating our research in the cave, X. Perrier for guiding us through the most remote areas of the caves and for rigging most of the vertical sections, and E. Baeza, E. Camunas, N. Isanta, S. Menendez, S. Torres, M. Tudela, and A. Uyarra for their fieldwork assistance. Comments by editor A.J. Platter and two anonymous reviewers greatly contributed to improve the manuscript.