Depositional properties and geochemistry of Holocene perched springline tufa deposits and associated spring waters: A case study from the Denizli province, Western Turkey

Abstract

The Güney waterfall area is a perched springline tufa site developed on the southeast slope of the Büyük Menderes River near Güney town, in the Denizli province, Western Turkey. The site is 12 km away from Güney and 72 km from the city centre of Denizli. The spring waters emerge from the boundary between Palaeozoic marble and micaschist and precipitated tufa deposits downslope at the altitudes ranging from 220 to 400 metres. The tufa deposits cover an area of about 20 hectares. Flat upper surfaces of the deposits are indicative of mature stage. The waters are of the Ca-HCO3 type and supersaturated with respect to CaCO3. The stable isotope values of the spring waters are -49.94 for ?2H and-7.15 for ?18O. The ?13C and ?18O values of active and passive tufa samples are in the range from -9.13 to -6.0‰, and from -8.44 to -7.40‰, respectively. These isotopic values are typical for fresh water tufa. The passive tufas give the 14C age in the range from 2000 to 5800 yr BP. According to the 14C age data, passive tufas are not older than Holocene. The stable isotope composition is similar south European examples. © The Geological Society of London 2010.