In eight groups of rockfalls more than 75,000 years old, broken speleothems are the only record of the prehistoric seismicity. |
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The most common type of speleothems studied for palaeoclimate are cylindrical stalagmites. |
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Speleothems usually display a layered or banded structure in cross section, not unlike growth rings in a tree. |
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I am also aware that speleothems are rarely pure calcium carbonate, but often contain large amounts of impurities such as soil or clay particles or surface organic material. |
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More interesting for purposes here is that prolonged droughts can mask hurricanes and other major rainfall events in speleothems. |
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In caves, a variety of features collectively called speleothems are formed by deposition of calcium carbonate and other dissolved minerals. |
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Other speleothems include flowstone that looks like a rock river, rounded polished cave pearls, and feathery aragonite. |
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The most common are speleothems and occur in limestone caves. |
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This produces speleothems, such as stalagmites and stalactites. |
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