Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave
Ice caves are one of the least studied parts of the cryosphere, particularly those located in inaccessible permafrost areas at high altitudes or high latitudes. We characterize the climate dynamics and the geomorphological features of Devaux cave, an outstanding ice cave in the Central Pyrenees on t...
Published in: | The Cryosphere |
---|---|
Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Copernicus Publications
2023
|
Subjects: | |
Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023 https://doaj.org/article/9d2c066bca9a408bb6cdda0fcdeb0c77 |
id |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9d2c066bca9a408bb6cdda0fcdeb0c77 |
---|---|
record_format |
openpolar |
spelling |
ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:9d2c066bca9a408bb6cdda0fcdeb0c77 2023-05-15T16:36:43+02:00 Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave M. Bartolomé G. Cazenave M. Luetscher C. Spötl F. Gázquez Á. Belmonte A. V. Turchyn J. I. López-Moreno A. Moreno 2023-02-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023 https://doaj.org/article/9d2c066bca9a408bb6cdda0fcdeb0c77 EN eng Copernicus Publications https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/477/2023/tc-17-477-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-477-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/9d2c066bca9a408bb6cdda0fcdeb0c77 The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 477-497 (2023) Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 article 2023 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023 2023-02-12T01:31:19Z Ice caves are one of the least studied parts of the cryosphere, particularly those located in inaccessible permafrost areas at high altitudes or high latitudes. We characterize the climate dynamics and the geomorphological features of Devaux cave, an outstanding ice cave in the Central Pyrenees on the French–Spanish border. Two distinct cave sectors were identified based on air temperature and geomorphological observations. The first one comprises well-ventilated galleries with large temperature oscillations likely influenced by a cave river. The second sector corresponds to more isolated chambers, where air and rock temperatures stay below 0 ∘ C throughout the year. Seasonal layered ice and hoarfrost occupy the first sector, while transparent, massive perennial ice is present in the isolated chambers. Cryogenic calcite and gypsum are mainly present within the perennial ice. During winter, the cave river freezes at the outlet, resulting in a damming and backflooding of the cave. We suggest that relict ice formations record past damming events with the subsequent formation of congelation ice. δ 34 S values of gypsum indicate that the sulfate originated from the oxidation of pyrite present in the bedrock. Several features including air and rock temperatures, the absence of drips, the small loss of ice in the past 7 decades, and the location of ice bodies in the cave indicate that the cave permafrost is the result of a combination of undercooling by ventilation and diffusive heat transfer from the surrounding permafrost, reaching a thickness of ∼ 200 m. Article in Journal/Newspaper Ice permafrost The Cryosphere Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles The Cryosphere 17 2 477 497 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
spellingShingle |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 M. Bartolomé G. Cazenave M. Luetscher C. Spötl F. Gázquez Á. Belmonte A. V. Turchyn J. I. López-Moreno A. Moreno Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave |
topic_facet |
Environmental sciences GE1-350 Geology QE1-996.5 |
description |
Ice caves are one of the least studied parts of the cryosphere, particularly those located in inaccessible permafrost areas at high altitudes or high latitudes. We characterize the climate dynamics and the geomorphological features of Devaux cave, an outstanding ice cave in the Central Pyrenees on the French–Spanish border. Two distinct cave sectors were identified based on air temperature and geomorphological observations. The first one comprises well-ventilated galleries with large temperature oscillations likely influenced by a cave river. The second sector corresponds to more isolated chambers, where air and rock temperatures stay below 0 ∘ C throughout the year. Seasonal layered ice and hoarfrost occupy the first sector, while transparent, massive perennial ice is present in the isolated chambers. Cryogenic calcite and gypsum are mainly present within the perennial ice. During winter, the cave river freezes at the outlet, resulting in a damming and backflooding of the cave. We suggest that relict ice formations record past damming events with the subsequent formation of congelation ice. δ 34 S values of gypsum indicate that the sulfate originated from the oxidation of pyrite present in the bedrock. Several features including air and rock temperatures, the absence of drips, the small loss of ice in the past 7 decades, and the location of ice bodies in the cave indicate that the cave permafrost is the result of a combination of undercooling by ventilation and diffusive heat transfer from the surrounding permafrost, reaching a thickness of ∼ 200 m. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
M. Bartolomé G. Cazenave M. Luetscher C. Spötl F. Gázquez Á. Belmonte A. V. Turchyn J. I. López-Moreno A. Moreno |
author_facet |
M. Bartolomé G. Cazenave M. Luetscher C. Spötl F. Gázquez Á. Belmonte A. V. Turchyn J. I. López-Moreno A. Moreno |
author_sort |
M. Bartolomé |
title |
Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave |
title_short |
Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave |
title_full |
Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave |
title_fullStr |
Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave |
title_full_unstemmed |
Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave |
title_sort |
mountain permafrost in the central pyrenees: insights from the devaux ice cave |
publisher |
Copernicus Publications |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023 https://doaj.org/article/9d2c066bca9a408bb6cdda0fcdeb0c77 |
genre |
Ice permafrost The Cryosphere |
genre_facet |
Ice permafrost The Cryosphere |
op_source |
The Cryosphere, Vol 17, Pp 477-497 (2023) |
op_relation |
https://tc.copernicus.org/articles/17/477/2023/tc-17-477-2023.pdf https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0416 https://doaj.org/toc/1994-0424 doi:10.5194/tc-17-477-2023 1994-0416 1994-0424 https://doaj.org/article/9d2c066bca9a408bb6cdda0fcdeb0c77 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023 |
container_title |
The Cryosphere |
container_volume |
17 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
477 |
op_container_end_page |
497 |
_version_ |
1766027041434501120 |