Robertsite: un nuovo fosfato di grotta scoperto nella Tagusan Cave(Palawan – Filippine)

La Tagusan Cave è una cavità di attraversamento che si apre nel massiccio calcareo che ospita la famosa grotta Porto Pricesa Undergroud River nell’isola di Palawan (Filippine). Al suo interno sono state rivenute alcune pisoliti di colore nero che sono state campionate e quindi analizzate dal punto di vista tessiturale e mineralogico. Le analisi al microscopio ottico hanno evidenziato come queste pisoliti non siano omogenee ma siano costituite da un nucleo spesso costituito da una aggregazione di ooliti giallastre su cui si è depositata un’alternanza di sottili strati picei e rossastri. L’analisi mineralogica delle bande di accrescimento ha evidenziato la presenza, oltre a fosfati di calcio praticamente amorfi, di robertsite [Ca2Mn3(PO4)3O2•3H2O], un fosfato che non era mai stato segnalato prima in grotta. Sempre in queste bande, sulla base degli esami röntgenografici e delle analisi EDAX, si è ipotizzata la presenza anche di janggunite [Mn5-x(Mn,Fe)1-xO8(OH)6], di cui però non si è raggiunta la certezza. Nel nucleo invece è stato possibile identificare la presenza di strengite-Al [(Fe,Al) (PO4) •2H2O]. La genesi di queste particolari pisoliti è da mettere in relazione con i processi di digestione biologica del guano che all’inizio della loro evoluzione doveva essere abbondante nelle acque che fluivano nella grotta, mentre ora, l’apporto idrico è molto più scarso e proviene da stillicidi che hanno scarsa relazione con il guano medesimo.The Tagusan cave is a hydrologic tunnel in the karst massif hosting the famous Porto Pricesa Underground River in the Palawan Island (Philippines). It hosts some speleothems among which are worth to be cited some black pearls. A few of them have been sampled to be analyzed from the textural and mineralogical point of view. The optical microscope analyses put in evidence that the inner structure of these pearls is un-homogeneous, consisting of a nucleus often made by aggregates of yellowish oolites covered by alternated pitch-dark and reddish layers. The mineralogical analyses find out that the growing layers consist of amorphous phosphates and robertsite [Ca6Mn9(PO4)9O6(H2O)6•3(H2O)], which is here recognized, for the first time, as cave mineral. The x-ray patterns and the EDAX analyses suggest also the presence of janggunite [Mn5-x(Mn,Fe)1-xO8(OH)6], but no definitive proof of it has been yet achieved. Strengite-Al, [(Fe,Al)PO4•2H2O)] is the main component of the yellowish oolites in the pearl’s nucleus. The genesis of these peculiar cave pearls is strictly related to the biological digestion processes of the guano deposits. In fact at the beginning of their evolution the feeding water directly crossed guano deposits, while now the few still active dripping practically has no contact with it

A new early warning drought index for Ethiopia

Abstract This study investigates the occurrence of droughts in the Dire Dawa area of eastern Ethiopia. A new index based on the rainfall delay (Rd) with respect to the expected onset (and traditional) seeding time and other indices, i.e., the aridity index and the Z-score, alternatives to the Standard Precipitation Index (SPI), are used to test the validity of the new Rd index in identifying severe droughts extending back to 1955. Although only data of rain gauges located in the district of Dire Dawa were used, they proved, albeit with different accuracies, able to identify nation-wide droughts

Human impact on sediment yield and channel dynamics in the Arno River basin (central Italy)

Abstract The Arno River basin has been subjected to human disturbance and modification since Roman times. Until 1800 the main aims of such modifications were to provide flood protection for adjacent towns and to acquire new land for cultivation. During the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the Arno River basin underwent additional significant modifications, including reforestation, upland sediment retention, a huge increase in bed material exploitation, the construction of two reservoirs and bank protection works. The combination of reduced sediment supply and increased sediment transport capacity resulted in extensive streambed degradation that threatened the stability of several bridges and other structures. In order to identify the dominant channel changes and the relationship between vertical and lateral adjustments, a comparison of many cross-sections spanning a period of more than one century was made. The relative importance of human activity in causing channel adjustment compared with natural changes, such as the progressively lower runoff recorded during the last seven decades, is discussed