Relations entre les diverses concrétions cavernicoles dans la région de l'Outaouais québécois et de la Haute Gatineau.

Abstract

Seventy-two samples of cavernous concretions collected in 10 caves from the South-West of Quebec, were analyzed in order to (1) establish if there was spatiotemporal bonds between moonmilk, popcorn and rimstones, and (2) determine if moonmilk is a speleothem or simply a state of calcite. The results of our analyses clearly show the presence of transition zones, which translate in a space-time continuum between the sedimentary characteristics of the divers ccncretions. The presence of layers showing moonmilk particularities in popcorn and rimstone samples, and the morphological similitude between moonmilk deposits and common speleothems, suggest that moonmilk is not a speleothem by itself, but an occasional component of speleothems.