A recent study published in the journal Geology has employed isotopes of sulfur to identify the origins of the sulfuric acid responsible for creating the stunning and distinctive cave systems in the Pyrenees mountains of southern France. Cave networks are formed through the dissolution of carbona
The team of scientists descends into Bexanka Cave. One of the most beautiful caves in the Arbailles basin, it is suspected that sulfuric acid played a role in forming this cave, but it has yet to be proven. The cave is located close to the Nébélé Cave studied in the article. Credit: Patrick Degouvehas employed isotopes of sulfur to identify the origins of the sulfuricresponsible for creating the stunning and distinctive cave systems in the Pyrenees mountains of southern France.
A rarer type of cave forms from the transport of fluids up through the crust and through fault zones, forming vertical caves that can connect with horizontal caverns, forming large networks. In some cases, when sulfur is present, sulfuric acid forms and acts to dissolve limestone much faster—forming caves 10–100 times faster than its carbonic acid counterparts.
Sulfur comes in four different isotopes—each weighing a slightly different amount. Researchers were able to estimate the relative contributions of sulfuric acid from different sources by using these isotopes as a marker of where the sulfur originated. The large network of limestone caves in the foothills of the French Pyrenees mountains was formed by a combination of acid-forming processes that left their imprint on the minerals left behind.
Dimitri Laurent explores a typical gallery in the Nébélé Cave, that was formed by sulfuric acid speleogenesis. You can see a deep notch that indicates the former presence of a river, and sodium sulfate on the left that is produced from weathering by sulfuric acid. Credit: Christophe Durlet
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