Reconnaissance studies of the tufa deposits of the Napier Range, N.W. Australia

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Abstract
Tufas are widespread in the Napier Range of north Western Australia, an area of tropical seasonal climate and savanna vegetation. The major tufa deposits have been mapped and the different forms described. These include drapes on cliffs, cones at cave entrances or the mouths of ephemeral streams, rimstone pools, and tufa dams. There are at least two generations of tufa cone, with the older being heavily calcreted and eroded. Simple geochemical and petrographical data allow comparison between the different types of deposit here and with deposits from other parts of the world. Thin section observations and scanning electron microscopy enable an initial assessment of the role of organic processes in tufa formation. Obvious organic remains are sparse, although many of the active tufas are composed of filamentous microsparite fabrics, suggesting that algae have influenced the geometry of the deposits. However, the identification of various endolithic algae indicates that they may also be actively involved in the degradation of the deposits.