Relationship between magnetic susceptibility and elemental composition of Guano from Solek Cave, West Sumatera

Geochemical characterization of clastic sediments sheds light on energy sources and on alleged anthropogenic impacts in cave ecosystems

“…Guano deposits can be classified as autochthonous clastic sediments (White 2007), representing an important energy source for several cave species, therefore called guanobites and guanophiles (Deharveng and Bedos 2018). These deposits are primarily constituted of organic matter, such as chitin from insects and other not digested compounds, combined over time with autochthonous inorganic materials, such as quartz, calcite and clay (Putra et al 2019). Anyway, not only the high concentrations of organic matter and chemical elements (C, N, P, S) associated to its composition may be related to bat guano, but also elements of abiotic origin (Miko et al 2001), similarly found in the Ts3 sample in high concentrations (particularly Pb).…”

“…Investigating the characteristics of cave clastic sediments pointed out several evidences about the inorganic and organic available energy, basics for the organization of ecological communities (influencing their structure and function), and highlighted modifications due to the human presence (introducing exogenous materials), potentially altering the natural chemico-physical energy balance of the underground system (Chelius et al 2009). In this context, bat colonies play a fundamental role in the enrichment in manures of the cave ecosystem, representing not only an important organic input, but also a key factor revealing environmental alterations and anthropogenic impacts (Putra et al 2019). Future efforts will focus on the endokarst and top soil characterization, to understand the genesis process of cave sediments, clarifying their provenance, such as their autochthonous or allochthonous origin, due to the past fluviokarst activity interesting the karst system.…”

Identification of Elemental Composition and Heavy Metal Content in Maninjau Lake Sediment Using X-Ray Fluorescence (MNJ 18-41B)

“…Magnetic minerals have the essential constituent elements of the fourth group transition group elements (Sc, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Cn, Bi, Cu, and Zn) [11], [25]. The magnetic mineral-forming elements found in this sample are Ti, V, Cr, Bi, Cu, Zn, Fe, and Mn.…”

“…Minerals are natural compounds formed through geological processes, while magnetic minerals are a collection of compounds with high magnetic properties [9]. The presence of magnetic minerals can determine the mineral content source in the lake's sediment deposits [10], [11]. Minerals in lake sediments can come from the deposition of volcanic ash from the atmosphere [12], river flow that empties into lakes [13], minerals from human activities [14], and autogenic processes [6].…”

Environmental magnetism data of Brantas River bulk surface sediments, Jawa Timur, Indonesia

“…Table 1 shows magnetic susceptibility measurement data on Brantas river bulk surface sediment samples. Several other studies have shown that magnetic susceptibility measurement was not only conducted on sediments from rivers [3], [4] but also on sediments from coasts [5], [6] and lakes [7], [8] and other materials such as mineral deposit [9] and guano [10], [11]. Previous studies have shown that frequency-dependent magnetic susceptibility was used to determine superparamagnetic grain content in sediments [12], [13].…”