DOI: dx.doi.org/10.21440/2307-2091-2016-2-32-41

Sulfur isotopic composition of sulfur deposits in Ural karst caves pdf (In English)

O. Ya. Chervyatsova, S. S. Potapov, S. A. Sadykov 

The subject of the study is the sulfur isotopic composition of sulfate deposits (minerals) of caves. The purpose of the study is the construction of mineral and speleogenesis model based on sulfur isotope study of primary and secondary mineral deposits. Authors conducted sampling of sulfate mineral formations for research in the Kungur and Kinderlinsk caves. Mineralogical and isotopic studies were done at the Institute of Mineralogy, Ural Branch of Russian Academy of Sciences (Miass). Diagnosis of minerals was made on diffractometer DRON-2.0, CuKa-emission. Determination of the isotopic composition of sulfur was carried out on a mass spectrometer DeltaPlus Advantage, manufactured by Thermo Finigan, and linked to the elemental analyzer EA Flash1112 with interface ConFlo III. The analysis error is 0,27 ‰ CDT. Authors studied the isotopic composition of sulfur of secondary sulfate minerals formed in two caves of the Urals – sulfate karst in the Kungur cave and carbonate karst in Kinderlinsk cave. Primary chemogenicsedimentary rocks (gypsum and anhydrite) in the Kungur cave have the isotopic composition δ34S ranging from 10.09 ‰ to +12,32 ‰, CDT, which corresponds to a typical composition for the Lower Permian marine evaporites. In the newly formed sulfate minerals (gypsum, mirabilite) were no significant changes in the isotopic composition of sulfur in comparison to sulfate of bedrock, which indicates their formation in the process of dissolution and re-deposition of primary sedimentary sequence. In the Kinderlinsk cave newly formed sulfate minerals are characterized by a slight sulfur isotopic composition δ34S, ranging from -23,51 ‰ to -15,288 ‰ CDT. A similar lighter sulfur isotopic composition is typical for mineral formations that are products of bacterial sulfate reduction. Authors assume formation of secondary gypsum from compounds of organically bound sulfur of bituminous substance of accommodating limestone, which oxidizes in oxygen conditions to
sulfates with participation of sulfur-oxidizing (thionic) bacteria.

Keywords: isotopes of sulfur; sulfates; secondary mineral formations; carbonate and sulfate karst caves; sulfate reduction; sulfuric acid speleogenesis; genesis of minerals.

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