Las tobas/travertinos del barranco de CalabozoUn ejemplo de construcción rápida de un edificio carbonático alimentado por una tubería de regadío
- A.M. Alonso-Zarza 1
- A. Rodríguez-Berriguete 1
- M.C. Cabrera 2
- A. Meléndez 3
- L.F. Martín 4
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1
Universidad Complutense de Madrid
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2
Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
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Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España
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3
Universidad de Zaragoza
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- 4 4 Consejo Insular de Aguas de Gran Canaria
ISSN: 1576-5172
Year of publication: 2012
Issue Title: VIII Congreso Geológico de España, Oviedo, 17-19 de julio, 2012.
Issue: 13
Pages: 44-47
Type: Article
More publications in: Geotemas (Madrid)
Abstract
A tufa/travertine building fed by an artificial irrigation system constitutes an outstanding feature of The Calabozo Gully, in Gran Canaria. The drainage system was fed by waters with elevate content in volcanic origin gas and temperature of 31ºC. In these conditions the pH of the water decreases, the water mineralizes very fast and increases its HCO3- and CO32- contents. As it goes out from the plumber, it degases and looses CO2. This enables the fast precipitation of carbonate and the formation of the building. The building consist on: a) a feeder channel, the plumber, b) slope, c) barriers and waterfalls and 4) pools. The building was active only a few decades and it grew very fast. This explains the main characteristics of the building: 1) the barriers are built by macrophytes, 2) coarse crystalline microfacies are dominant and formed by the strong disequilibrium by the fast CO2 lost, 3) some diagenetic features are observed. Macrophytes acted as a support for inorganic precipitation of calcite. In addition microorganisms also had an important role in micrite precipitation.