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Isotope and trace element evolution of the naica aquifer (Chihuahua, Mexico) over the past 60,000 yr revealed by speleothems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 January 2017

Fernando Gázquez ,
Jos"-Mar"a Calaforra ,
Heather Stoll ,
Laura Sanna ,
Paolo Forti ,
Stein-Erik Lauritzen ,
Antonio Delgado ,
Fernando Rull  and
Jesús Martínez-Frías
Fernando Gázquez*
Affiliation:
Water Resources and Environmental Geology, University of Almería, Crta. Sacramento s/n, 04120, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain Unidad Asociada UVA-CSIC al Centro de Astrobiología, University of Valladolid, Parque Tecnológico Boecillo, 47151 Valladolid, Spain
Jos"-Mar"a Calaforra
Affiliation:
Water Resources and Environmental Geology, University of Almería, Crta. Sacramento s/n, 04120, La Cañada de San Urbano, Almería, Spain
Heather Stoll
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Oviedo, Arias de Velasco s/n, 30005 Oviedo, Spain
Laura Sanna
Affiliation:
Dipartimentpo di Scienze della Natura e del Territorio, Universit" degli Studi di Sassari, Via Piandanna 4, 07100 Sassari, Italy
Paolo Forti
Affiliation:
Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Bologna, Via Zamboni 67, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Stein-Erik Lauritzen
Affiliation:
Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bergen, All"gaten 41, N-5007 Bergen, Norway
Antonio Delgado
Affiliation:
Instituto Andaluz de Ciencias de la Tierra, Camino del Jueves s/n, 18100 Armilla, Granada, Spain
Fernando Rull
Affiliation:
Unidad Asociada UVA-CSIC al Centro de Astrobiología, University of Valladolid, Parque Tecnológico Boecillo, 47151 Valladolid, Spain
Jesús Martínez-Frías
Affiliation:
Unidad Asociada UVA-CSIC al Centro de Astrobiología, University of Valladolid, Parque Tecnológico Boecillo, 47151 Valladolid, Spain Geosciences Institute, IGEO (CSIC-UCM), Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, C/ José Antonio Novais, 2, Ciudad Universitaria, 28040, Madrid, Spain
*
*Corresponding author. E-mail address:f.gazquez@ual.es (F. Gázquez).
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Abstract

The “espada” speleothems of Cueva de las Espadas (Naica Mine, Chihuahua, Mexico) comprise a high-purity selenite core overlain by successive deposits of calcite, gypsum and aragonite. Gypsum precipitated under water from a hydrothermal solution (~ 58°C) when the water table was above the cave level ca. 57 ka, during the last glaciation, and some intervals during deglaciation and the Holocene. Aragonite was deposited at lower temperatures (~ 26°C) in a perched lake occupying the cave bottom, when the water table dropped below the cave level during brief dry intervals during deglaciation and the early Holocene. The isotopic composition of gypsum water of crystallization shows that the deglaciation–Holocene aquifer water was enriched in deuterium by 12.8–8.7‰ relative to water from the last glaciation. This is attributed to an increased relative moisture contribution from the Gulf of Mexico during deglaciation and the Holocene compared to the last glaciation. This indicates that drier conditions occurred in the Naica area during the Holocene than around 57 ka. Furthermore, trace element analyses of gypsum served to deduce the circulation regime of the Naica aquifer during the past 60,000 yr, and also suggest that higher aquifer recharge occurred during the last glaciation.

Keywords

Cave mineralsGypsum water of crystallizationGypsum speleothemsNaica cavesPaleogroundwaterSelenite
Type
Original Articles
Information
Quaternary Research , Volume 80 , Issue 3 , November 2013 , pp. 510 - 521
Copyright
University of Washington

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