242.
In this study, we show that moonmilk subaerial speleothems in Altamira Cave (Spain) consist of a network of fiber calcite
crystals and active microbial structures. In Altamira moonmilks, the study of the typology and distribution of fiber crystals,
extracellular polymeric substances, and microorganisms allowed us to define the initial stages of fiber crystal formation
in recent samples as well as the variations in the microstructural arrangement in more evolved stages. Thus, we have been
able to show the existence of a relationship among the different types of fiber crystals and their origins. This allowed us
to outline a model that illustrates the different stages of formation of the moonmilk, developed on different substrata, concluding
that microbes influence physicochemical precipitation, resulting in a variety of fiber crystal morphologies and sizes.
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