Modern and Paleotravertines from Gorny Altai: Indicative Features

Resumo

This work reports new geochemical and stable isotope data on the Late Quaternary travertines of the southeastern Gorny Altai. The travertines are composed of Mg-calcite and Sr-aragonite, which cement the Sartan moraines and Holocene colluvium. The isotope characteristics of CaCO₃ (δ¹³C = –4.1…+0.9‰ and δ¹⁸O = –13.8…–13.9‰, VPDB) indicate a mixed carbon source, while the oxygen source is sedimentation water of the early diagenetic stage. The formation of travertines is controlled by the following factors: faults, underlying deformed carbonate rocks, dissected relief overlain by colluvium and/or moraine sediments, and the ascending fluid flow.