Extremely high diversity of sulfate minerals in caves of the Irazú Volcano (Costa Rica) related to crater lake and fumarolic activity

Authors

Andrés Ulloa, Universidad de Costa RicaFollow
Fernando Gázquez, University of St. AndrewsFollow
Aurelio Sanz-Arranz, University of ValladolidFollow
Jesús Medina, University of ValladolidFollow
Fernando Rull, University of ValladolidFollow
José María Calaforra, University of AlmeríaFollow
Guillermo E. Alvarado, Red Sismológica Nacional (RSN: UCR-ICE)Follow
María Martínez, Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa RicaFollow
Geoffroy Avard, Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa RicaFollow
J. Maarten De Moor, Observatorio Vulcanológico y Sismológico de Costa RicaFollow
Jo De Waele, University of BolognaFollow

Highlights

• Mineralogical and geochemical studies of speleothems in caves of Irazú volcano were performed
• Water and gas geochemistry of volcanic lake, infiltration waters and fumaroles are presented
• Forty-eight different mineral phases were identified, mostly hydrated sulfates
• We report the first occurrence of 13 minerals in cave environments, and 5 more yet to be confirmed
• These caves are considered world-type locality for investigations of sulfate minerals

Abstract

The caves of the Irazú volcano (Costa Rica), became accessible after the partial collapse of the NW sector of the Irazú volcano in 1994, offering the opportunity to investigate active minerogenetic processes in volcanic cave environments. We performed a detailed mineralogical and geochemical study of speleothems in the caves Cueva los Minerales and Cueva Los Mucolitos, both located in the northwest foothills of the main crater. Mineralogical analyses included X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Raman spectroscopy, while geochemical characterization used Energy Dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) coupled to Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM). In addition, measurements of environmental parameters in the caves, cave drip water and compilation of geochemical analyses of the Irazú volcanic lake (~150 m above the cave level) and fumarole analyses were conducted between 1991 and 2014. We identified forty-eight different mineral phases, mostly rare hydrated sulfates of the alunite, halotrichite, copiapite, kieserite and rozenite groups, thirteen of which are described here as cave minerals for the first time. This includes the first occurrence in cave environments of aplowite, bieberite, boyleite, dietrichite, ferricopiapite, ferrinatrite, lausenite, lishizhenite, magnesiocopiapite, marinellite, pentahydrite, szomolnokite, and wupatkiite. The presence of other new cave minerals such as tolbachite, mercallite, rhomboclase, cyanochroite, and retgersite, is likely but could not be confirmed by various mineralogical techniques. Uplifting of sulfurous gases, water seepage from the Irazú volcanic lake and hydrothermal interactions with the volcanic host rock are responsible for such extreme mineralogical diversity. These findings make the caves of the Irazú volcano a world-type- reference locality for investigations on the formation and assemblage of sulfate minerals and the biogeochemical cycle of sulfur, with potential implications for Astrobiology and Planetary science.

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5038/1827-806X.47.2.2198

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License

Recommended Citation

Ulloa, Andrés; Fernando Gázquez; Aurelio Sanz-Arranz; Jesús Medina; Fernando Rull; José María Calaforra; Guillermo E. Alvarado; María Martínez; Geoffroy Avard; J. Maarten De Moor; and Jo De Waele. 2018. Extremely high diversity of sulfate minerals in caves of the Irazú Volcano (Costa Rica) related to crater lake and fumarolic activity. International Journal of Speleology, 47: 229-246.
Available at: https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ijs/vol47/iss2/13