Caracterización química del agua de goteo en la cueva Kaite y monitorización de las variaciones estacionales

Abstract

Characterization of drip waters in karstic caves is a key task for interpreting speleothems in terms of paleodimate record. Particularly, variations in stalagmite composition, growth rate and microstratigraphy, often used as indicators of climate changes, strongly depend on changes in cave drip waters. For this reason, an "in situ" monitoring of the physicochemical properties and composition of those waters is being carried out in Kaite (Ojo Cuareña Karstic System, N Spain), a small isolated cave selected for paleodimate studies. In this paper, the experimental methodology of the hydrochemical monitoring is presented and the first results, corresponding to a complete year, are exposed and interpreted