Paolo Forti | Università di Bologna (original) (raw)
Papers by Paolo Forti
UNESCO : Paesaggi, patrimoni di cultura e di natura, Università di Bologna, 2024, pp. 65 - 74 (atti di: UNESCO. Paesaggi, patrimoni di cultura e di natura, Cesena, Università di Bologna, 25 novembre 2022) , 2024
Le aree carsiche nelle evaporiti dell’Emilia-Romagna, pur coprendo solo lo 0,6% del territorio re... more Le aree carsiche nelle evaporiti dell’Emilia-Romagna, pur coprendo solo lo 0,6% del territorio regionale, hanno un grande impatto sul paesaggio locale e rivestono grande importanza nei campi scientifico, culturale e divulgativo. Dopo una lunga fase di elaborazione della candidatura, a cui hanno contributo docenti delle Università di Bologna e di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Federazione Speleologica Regionale dell’Emilia-Romagna, personale delle aree protette coinvolte, tecnici regionali, personale della Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio, la Regione Emilia-Romagna, capofila del progetto, agli inizi del 2022 ha proposto il loro inserimento nella World Heritage List dell’UNESCO. Come espressamente richiesto dall’UNESCO, tutte le aree oggetto dell’iniziativa, ribattezzata Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines (EKCNA), sono attualmente protette da Parchi nazionali o regionali oppure da riserve regionali o ancora da siti della Rete Natura 2000, i quali ne garantiscono non solo la salvaguardia, ma anche una fruizione turistica sostenibile, già oggi quantificabile in decine di migliaia di presenze annue. Le emergenze emiliano-romagnole rappresentano le evaporiti più studiate al mondo, oggetto di ricerche sin dal tardo XVI secolo. La proposta di candidatura si basa su una approfondita analisi comparativa rispetto a 13 altre aree carsiche mondiali con caratteristiche simili, analisi che ha dimostrato inequivocabilmente la preminenza scientifica su scala mondiale delle evaporiti dell’Emilia-Romagna.
We investigate the effect of considering reciprocal drawdown curves for the characterization of h... more We investigate the effect of considering reciprocal drawdown curves for the characterization of hydraulic properties of aquifer systems through inverse modeling based on interference well testing. Reciprocity implies that drawdown observed in a well B when pumping takes place from well A should strictly coincide with the drawdown observed in A when pumping in B with the same flow rate as in A. In this context, a critical point related to applications of hydraulic tomography is the assessment of the number of available independent drawdown data and their impact on the solution of the inverse problem. The issue arises when inverse modeling relies upon mathematical formulations of the classical single-continuum approach to flow in porous media grounded on Darcy's law. In these cases, introducing reciprocal drawdown curves in the database of an inverse problem is equivalent to duplicate some information, to a certain extent. We present a theoretical analysis of the way a Least-Square objective function and a Levenberg-Marquardt minimization algorithm are affected by the introduction of reciprocal information in the inverse problem. We also investigate the way these reciprocal data, eventually corrupted by measurement errors, influence model parameter identification in terms of: (a) the convergence of the inverse model, (b) the optimal values of parameter estimates, and (c) the associated estimation uncertainty. Our theoretical findings are exemplified through a suite of computational examples focused on blockheterogeneous systems with increased complexity level. We find that the introduction of noisy reciprocal information in the objective function of the inverse problem has a very limited influence on the optimal parameter estimates. Convergence of the inverse problem improves when adding diverse (nonreciprocal) drawdown series, but does not improve when reciprocal information is added to condition the flow model. The uncertainty on optimal parameter estimates is influenced by the strength of measurement errors and it is not significantly diminished or increased by adding noisy reciprocal information.
Chemical Physics Letters, Nov 1, 1974
Abstract The rotational spectrum of 2- and 4-iodo-pyridine was measured in the region between 8–4... more Abstract The rotational spectrum of 2- and 4-iodo-pyridine was measured in the region between 8–40 GHz. The hyperfine quadrupole coupling structure has been analyzed and the quadrupole asymmetry parameter η was evaluated in each case. From certain structural calculations the C I bond length has been evaluated for both 2- and 4-iodo-pyridine.
International Journal of Speleology, 1995
The classification scheme of Hill and Forti, as used in the second edition of Cave Minerals of th... more The classification scheme of Hill and Forti, as used in the second edition of Cave Minerals of the World. is presented as a "practical" solution to the classification of cave minerals and speleothems. Classification and naming of cave minerals is by crystal class and follows nomenclature approved by the International Mineralogical Association. Classification of speleothems is based on morphology and whatever is known about origin, with division of speleothems into types, subtypes, and varieties. It is proposed that new speleothem types, subtypes, and names be approved by a UIS Commission of cave mineralogists.
International Journal of Speleology, May 1, 2017
Chemical deposits inside evaporite (gypsum, anhydrite and halite) caves are far less common than ... more Chemical deposits inside evaporite (gypsum, anhydrite and halite) caves are far less common than those developed within limestone or volcanic cavities. Moreover they exhibit a lower scarce mineralogical variability due to several reasons, the most important of which are: 1) calcium sulfate and sodium chloride are by far less reactive than calcium carbonate; 2) evaporite outcrops normally have a low mineralogical variability within the cave recharge areas. Therefore these karst environments were less investigated from this point of view in the past: no general paper exists on speleothems developing in halite and anhydrite caves until present, while the last printed one on gypsum (and anhydrite) karst appeared around 20 years ago. Several mineralogical studies were carried out in the last decades in caves from different evaporite areas proving that some of them host peculiar minerogenetic mechanisms, which are, at the moment, exclusive for these areas, and sometimes also brought to light to rare or even new cave minerals. In the present paper, together with an overview on all the actually known minerogenetic mechanisms active within the evaporite caves, the related chemical deposits and speleothems are shortly described. Far from being exhaustive, the recent mineralogical research on evaporite caves puts in evidence their unexpected richness in peculiar hosted speleothems and rare cave deposits. Seven out of the fifty known evaporite cave minerals, and around 10 speleothem types/subtypes are exclusive to these environments. Taking into account that only a few evaporite areas have been, so far, studied, it is highly probable that in the near future many more new cave deposits will be discovered, thus increasing the mineralogical interest of these unique caves.
Chemical Physics Letters, Aug 1, 1972
International Journal of Speleology, Dec 1, 1978
First observations on deposition of calcite sinter in a cave Optical analyscs of thin slidcs of L... more First observations on deposition of calcite sinter in a cave Optical analyscs of thin slidcs of L';I\C formations L'aninl OUI In' a IHIIHhl'l [If rcsc;lrL'ilL'rs sho\\cd;1 I'inc st rUCIurc consist in1' 01 a sUL'L'L'ssiOIl 01 dou hk la\'l'Is (I h iL' k IlCSS:kss Ihall a 1,'\\ t,'IlS olllllll, I'I each two layer unit, one is thicker, transparent and composed by an assembly of calcite needle shaped crystals oriented perpendicularly to the layer; the other layer is opaque, cryptocristalline or amorphous. According to some C-14 dating of archaeological remains covered by the formations each couple of layers would correspond to one year. In order to check this hypothesis an experiment was set up in the Novella Cave (near Bologna) under controlled conditions. Cave pearls were choosen for investigation owing to the possibility 01 studying one of them without introducing any perturbation on the formation of the calcite sinter on the others. The growth of cave pearls was studied in a glass cell composed of three sections and described in the paper.. In the first one, some holes,Pf different size and depth were made in order to ascertain the influence of these geometrical parameters in function of the distance from the water drips. Small glass spheres (diameter around 1 mm) were placed in the holes as deposition nuclei. A cover was placed over this section to collect the water splash only when the water flow was measured, in order to avoid any change in the natural evaporation rate. The connection with the second section was obtained by a glass tube designed in order to guarantee a suitable mixing of the water. Both temperature and pH were measured. The third section consisted of a graduated container used to measure the flow rate which varied from 0.4-0.5-to 500-700 drops/min (a range of about three orders of magnitude). Air temperature was also measured during the experiment. The chemical composition of both natural and artificial cave pearls was determined. All the data are reported. No difference (with the exception of Fe concentration) was detected between the natural and the artificial conditions. Therefore after some years of experimentation the growth rate will be determined under controlled conditions. Introduzione Analisi condotte con il microscopio da mineralogia a luce trasmessa su sezioni. sottili di alabastri calcarei a struttura laminare di varie grotte, han no mostrato
Spectrochimica acta, Jul 1, 1971
Abstract The millimeter wave spectrum of COCl 2 has been measured in the region around 100 kMc s ... more Abstract The millimeter wave spectrum of COCl 2 has been measured in the region around 100 kMc s . By centrifugal distortion analysis, based on the Kivelson and Wilson first order perturbation treatment, the following values of the ground state rotational parameters were obtained: A = 7918·84 ± 0·04 B = 3474·98 ± 0·02 C = 2412·22 ± 0·02 τ aaaa = −0·0409667 ± 0·0002848 τ bbbb = −0·0067506 ± 0·0000379 τ aabb = 0·0082983 ± 0·0002033 τ = −0·0057315 ± 0·0000850 By combining the τ's with the vibrational frequencies, calculations were carried out in order to determine the quadratic force field. Since only three of the τ's are dependent on the A 1 force field, each of the A 1 force constants was used as variable parameters in order to apply the least square method for the determination of the corrections on a starting set F 0 . Interrelation patterns were obtained, overlaping with each other or not, depending on the particular force constant which was chosen as variable parameters. These facts suggest that the data are relatively unsensitive to some of the force constants. The following constraints were therefore used in order to define the force field: , ƒ r α , same sign as ƒ r β , ƒ r β same sign as ƒ r α . and opposite to ƒ r β , where R = δ(C-O), r = δ(C-Cl), α = δ( The final results consist of two sets of force constants which differ only in the values of ƒ rR , ƒ R and ƒ R α , while the other force constants are defined in the same rather narrow ranges.
Journal of Chemical Physics, May 1, 1969
calculated with the above theoretical equation, are compared with the experimental values in Tabl... more calculated with the above theoretical equation, are compared with the experimental values in Table I. The mean deviation of cleal. from ~t1 is 25% and indicates that the two-dimensional scaled-particle theory is accurate in the low-pressure (IT<10 dyn/cm) range also. It should be noted that the theoretical equation of state for a two-dimensional imperfect gas (with A- 2Ao' for the
Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, Jul 1, 1975
The rotational constants and quartic centrifugal distortion constants for NO235Cl and NO237Cl hav... more The rotational constants and quartic centrifugal distortion constants for NO235Cl and NO237Cl have been determined from an analysis of rotational transitions in the microwave and millimeter wave regions between 8.2-40 and 90-120 GHz, respectively. The values of the in-plane force constants in the general harmonic potential field have been obtained by combination of infrared and microwave data. Vibrational frequencies of
Enseñanza de las ciencias de la tierra: Revista de la Asociación Española para la Enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Tierra, 2016
Chemical Physics Letters, Mar 1, 1976
Abstract The microwave spectrum of 4-Cl-pyridine has been observed between 8000 and 40000 MHz. Th... more Abstract The microwave spectrum of 4-Cl-pyridine has been observed between 8000 and 40000 MHz. The rotational constants for the 35 Cl and 37 Ci isotopic species have been obtained. The 35 Cl quadrupole coupling constants and the relative asymmetry parameter η have been determined. The observed dipole moment is 0.756 D. Some indications are given about the CCl bond length and the N-quadrupole coupling constants.
Zeitschrift Fur Geomorphologie, Mar 12, 2021
UNESCO : Paesaggi, patrimoni di cultura e di natura, Università di Bologna, 2024, pp. 65 - 74 (atti di: UNESCO. Paesaggi, patrimoni di cultura e di natura, Cesena, Università di Bologna, 25 novembre 2022) , 2024
Le aree carsiche nelle evaporiti dell’Emilia-Romagna, pur coprendo solo lo 0,6% del territorio re... more Le aree carsiche nelle evaporiti dell’Emilia-Romagna, pur coprendo solo lo 0,6% del territorio regionale, hanno un grande impatto sul paesaggio locale e rivestono grande importanza nei campi scientifico, culturale e divulgativo. Dopo una lunga fase di elaborazione della candidatura, a cui hanno contributo docenti delle Università di Bologna e di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Federazione Speleologica Regionale dell’Emilia-Romagna, personale delle aree protette coinvolte, tecnici regionali, personale della Soprintendenza Archeologia Belle Arti e Paesaggio, la Regione Emilia-Romagna, capofila del progetto, agli inizi del 2022 ha proposto il loro inserimento nella World Heritage List dell’UNESCO. Come espressamente richiesto dall’UNESCO, tutte le aree oggetto dell’iniziativa, ribattezzata Evaporitic Karst and Caves of Northern Apennines (EKCNA), sono attualmente protette da Parchi nazionali o regionali oppure da riserve regionali o ancora da siti della Rete Natura 2000, i quali ne garantiscono non solo la salvaguardia, ma anche una fruizione turistica sostenibile, già oggi quantificabile in decine di migliaia di presenze annue. Le emergenze emiliano-romagnole rappresentano le evaporiti più studiate al mondo, oggetto di ricerche sin dal tardo XVI secolo. La proposta di candidatura si basa su una approfondita analisi comparativa rispetto a 13 altre aree carsiche mondiali con caratteristiche simili, analisi che ha dimostrato inequivocabilmente la preminenza scientifica su scala mondiale delle evaporiti dell’Emilia-Romagna.
We investigate the effect of considering reciprocal drawdown curves for the characterization of h... more We investigate the effect of considering reciprocal drawdown curves for the characterization of hydraulic properties of aquifer systems through inverse modeling based on interference well testing. Reciprocity implies that drawdown observed in a well B when pumping takes place from well A should strictly coincide with the drawdown observed in A when pumping in B with the same flow rate as in A. In this context, a critical point related to applications of hydraulic tomography is the assessment of the number of available independent drawdown data and their impact on the solution of the inverse problem. The issue arises when inverse modeling relies upon mathematical formulations of the classical single-continuum approach to flow in porous media grounded on Darcy's law. In these cases, introducing reciprocal drawdown curves in the database of an inverse problem is equivalent to duplicate some information, to a certain extent. We present a theoretical analysis of the way a Least-Square objective function and a Levenberg-Marquardt minimization algorithm are affected by the introduction of reciprocal information in the inverse problem. We also investigate the way these reciprocal data, eventually corrupted by measurement errors, influence model parameter identification in terms of: (a) the convergence of the inverse model, (b) the optimal values of parameter estimates, and (c) the associated estimation uncertainty. Our theoretical findings are exemplified through a suite of computational examples focused on blockheterogeneous systems with increased complexity level. We find that the introduction of noisy reciprocal information in the objective function of the inverse problem has a very limited influence on the optimal parameter estimates. Convergence of the inverse problem improves when adding diverse (nonreciprocal) drawdown series, but does not improve when reciprocal information is added to condition the flow model. The uncertainty on optimal parameter estimates is influenced by the strength of measurement errors and it is not significantly diminished or increased by adding noisy reciprocal information.
Chemical Physics Letters, Nov 1, 1974
Abstract The rotational spectrum of 2- and 4-iodo-pyridine was measured in the region between 8–4... more Abstract The rotational spectrum of 2- and 4-iodo-pyridine was measured in the region between 8–40 GHz. The hyperfine quadrupole coupling structure has been analyzed and the quadrupole asymmetry parameter η was evaluated in each case. From certain structural calculations the C I bond length has been evaluated for both 2- and 4-iodo-pyridine.
International Journal of Speleology, 1995
The classification scheme of Hill and Forti, as used in the second edition of Cave Minerals of th... more The classification scheme of Hill and Forti, as used in the second edition of Cave Minerals of the World. is presented as a "practical" solution to the classification of cave minerals and speleothems. Classification and naming of cave minerals is by crystal class and follows nomenclature approved by the International Mineralogical Association. Classification of speleothems is based on morphology and whatever is known about origin, with division of speleothems into types, subtypes, and varieties. It is proposed that new speleothem types, subtypes, and names be approved by a UIS Commission of cave mineralogists.
International Journal of Speleology, May 1, 2017
Chemical deposits inside evaporite (gypsum, anhydrite and halite) caves are far less common than ... more Chemical deposits inside evaporite (gypsum, anhydrite and halite) caves are far less common than those developed within limestone or volcanic cavities. Moreover they exhibit a lower scarce mineralogical variability due to several reasons, the most important of which are: 1) calcium sulfate and sodium chloride are by far less reactive than calcium carbonate; 2) evaporite outcrops normally have a low mineralogical variability within the cave recharge areas. Therefore these karst environments were less investigated from this point of view in the past: no general paper exists on speleothems developing in halite and anhydrite caves until present, while the last printed one on gypsum (and anhydrite) karst appeared around 20 years ago. Several mineralogical studies were carried out in the last decades in caves from different evaporite areas proving that some of them host peculiar minerogenetic mechanisms, which are, at the moment, exclusive for these areas, and sometimes also brought to light to rare or even new cave minerals. In the present paper, together with an overview on all the actually known minerogenetic mechanisms active within the evaporite caves, the related chemical deposits and speleothems are shortly described. Far from being exhaustive, the recent mineralogical research on evaporite caves puts in evidence their unexpected richness in peculiar hosted speleothems and rare cave deposits. Seven out of the fifty known evaporite cave minerals, and around 10 speleothem types/subtypes are exclusive to these environments. Taking into account that only a few evaporite areas have been, so far, studied, it is highly probable that in the near future many more new cave deposits will be discovered, thus increasing the mineralogical interest of these unique caves.
Chemical Physics Letters, Aug 1, 1972
International Journal of Speleology, Dec 1, 1978
First observations on deposition of calcite sinter in a cave Optical analyscs of thin slidcs of L... more First observations on deposition of calcite sinter in a cave Optical analyscs of thin slidcs of L';I\C formations L'aninl OUI In' a IHIIHhl'l [If rcsc;lrL'ilL'rs sho\\cd;1 I'inc st rUCIurc consist in1' 01 a sUL'L'L'ssiOIl 01 dou hk la\'l'Is (I h iL' k IlCSS:kss Ihall a 1,'\\ t,'IlS olllllll, I'I each two layer unit, one is thicker, transparent and composed by an assembly of calcite needle shaped crystals oriented perpendicularly to the layer; the other layer is opaque, cryptocristalline or amorphous. According to some C-14 dating of archaeological remains covered by the formations each couple of layers would correspond to one year. In order to check this hypothesis an experiment was set up in the Novella Cave (near Bologna) under controlled conditions. Cave pearls were choosen for investigation owing to the possibility 01 studying one of them without introducing any perturbation on the formation of the calcite sinter on the others. The growth of cave pearls was studied in a glass cell composed of three sections and described in the paper.. In the first one, some holes,Pf different size and depth were made in order to ascertain the influence of these geometrical parameters in function of the distance from the water drips. Small glass spheres (diameter around 1 mm) were placed in the holes as deposition nuclei. A cover was placed over this section to collect the water splash only when the water flow was measured, in order to avoid any change in the natural evaporation rate. The connection with the second section was obtained by a glass tube designed in order to guarantee a suitable mixing of the water. Both temperature and pH were measured. The third section consisted of a graduated container used to measure the flow rate which varied from 0.4-0.5-to 500-700 drops/min (a range of about three orders of magnitude). Air temperature was also measured during the experiment. The chemical composition of both natural and artificial cave pearls was determined. All the data are reported. No difference (with the exception of Fe concentration) was detected between the natural and the artificial conditions. Therefore after some years of experimentation the growth rate will be determined under controlled conditions. Introduzione Analisi condotte con il microscopio da mineralogia a luce trasmessa su sezioni. sottili di alabastri calcarei a struttura laminare di varie grotte, han no mostrato
Spectrochimica acta, Jul 1, 1971
Abstract The millimeter wave spectrum of COCl 2 has been measured in the region around 100 kMc s ... more Abstract The millimeter wave spectrum of COCl 2 has been measured in the region around 100 kMc s . By centrifugal distortion analysis, based on the Kivelson and Wilson first order perturbation treatment, the following values of the ground state rotational parameters were obtained: A = 7918·84 ± 0·04 B = 3474·98 ± 0·02 C = 2412·22 ± 0·02 τ aaaa = −0·0409667 ± 0·0002848 τ bbbb = −0·0067506 ± 0·0000379 τ aabb = 0·0082983 ± 0·0002033 τ = −0·0057315 ± 0·0000850 By combining the τ's with the vibrational frequencies, calculations were carried out in order to determine the quadratic force field. Since only three of the τ's are dependent on the A 1 force field, each of the A 1 force constants was used as variable parameters in order to apply the least square method for the determination of the corrections on a starting set F 0 . Interrelation patterns were obtained, overlaping with each other or not, depending on the particular force constant which was chosen as variable parameters. These facts suggest that the data are relatively unsensitive to some of the force constants. The following constraints were therefore used in order to define the force field: , ƒ r α , same sign as ƒ r β , ƒ r β same sign as ƒ r α . and opposite to ƒ r β , where R = δ(C-O), r = δ(C-Cl), α = δ( The final results consist of two sets of force constants which differ only in the values of ƒ rR , ƒ R and ƒ R α , while the other force constants are defined in the same rather narrow ranges.
Journal of Chemical Physics, May 1, 1969
calculated with the above theoretical equation, are compared with the experimental values in Tabl... more calculated with the above theoretical equation, are compared with the experimental values in Table I. The mean deviation of cleal. from ~t1 is 25% and indicates that the two-dimensional scaled-particle theory is accurate in the low-pressure (IT<10 dyn/cm) range also. It should be noted that the theoretical equation of state for a two-dimensional imperfect gas (with A- 2Ao' for the
Journal of Molecular Spectroscopy, Jul 1, 1975
The rotational constants and quartic centrifugal distortion constants for NO235Cl and NO237Cl hav... more The rotational constants and quartic centrifugal distortion constants for NO235Cl and NO237Cl have been determined from an analysis of rotational transitions in the microwave and millimeter wave regions between 8.2-40 and 90-120 GHz, respectively. The values of the in-plane force constants in the general harmonic potential field have been obtained by combination of infrared and microwave data. Vibrational frequencies of
Enseñanza de las ciencias de la tierra: Revista de la Asociación Española para la Enseñanza de las Ciencias de la Tierra, 2016
Chemical Physics Letters, Mar 1, 1976
Abstract The microwave spectrum of 4-Cl-pyridine has been observed between 8000 and 40000 MHz. Th... more Abstract The microwave spectrum of 4-Cl-pyridine has been observed between 8000 and 40000 MHz. The rotational constants for the 35 Cl and 37 Ci isotopic species have been obtained. The 35 Cl quadrupole coupling constants and the relative asymmetry parameter η have been determined. The observed dipole moment is 0.756 D. Some indications are given about the CCl bond length and the N-quadrupole coupling constants.
Zeitschrift Fur Geomorphologie, Mar 12, 2021
16th International Congress of Speleology, Jul 2013
The isotopic composition of gypsum hydration water (d18O and dD) in several selenite speleothems ... more The isotopic composition of gypsum hydration water (d18O and dD) in several selenite speleothems from the caves of the Naica Mine (Chihuahua, Mexico) has been investigated. The gypsum samples were collected at different depths from “Sword Cave” (at -120 m Level), “Crystales Cave” and “Ojo de la Reina Cave” (both at -290 m Level). d18O ranged between -4.66 and -3.26‰, whilst D varied between -81.78 and -71.43‰, relative to V-SMOW. The isotopic composition of the Naica aquifer was calculated using isotopic fractionation factors for dD and d18O during subaqueous gypsum precipitation from hydrothermal solutions (αDgyp – H2O = 0.980 and α18Ogyp – H2O = 1.004), which are independent of temperature (at low values), revealing that 18O of the Naica aquifer water ranged between -8.62 and -7.23‰, whilst D was between -63.04 and -52.48‰. The data are described by a line (dD= 7.97 d18O +5.81) that is close to the current meteoric water line at the setting of Naica. Furthermore, at presesent deep water of Naica mineshows isotopic values that also fit with the inferred palaeogroundwater values. The differences observed between gypsum at the levels -120 m and -290 m could be explained by their crystallization under different climatic conditions in a span of time around 150 ka, as revealed by previous geochronological studies. Changes in the main moisture source of precipitation (Pacific Ocean/Gulf of Mexico) could have affected the isotopic composition of the infiltrating meteoric water in this area during the Quaternary. Alternatively, 18O and D of gypsum precipitated during the Holocene at -120 m Level show that evaporation of the shallower aquifer affected the isotopic composition of the groundwater during that period. In conclusion, the huge gypsum speleothems of the Naica caves precipitated from water of meteoric origin thatfed the hydrothermal aquifer of Naica, with indication of evaporation during the Holocene. These preliminary results suggest that phreatic gypsum speleothems constitute a potentially promesing archive for palaeogroundwater and palaeoclimate reconstruction.