Isotope tracers to investigate reactive zones in stones from built cultural heritage

Mandana Saheb (1) , Aurélie Verney-Carron (1) , Laurent Remusat (2) , Rémi Duhamel (2) , Adriana Gonzalez-Cano (2) , Jean-Didier Mertz (3) , Claudine Loisel (3) , Anne Chabas (1) , Olivier Rozenbaum (4)

1 LISA (UMR_7583) - Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Systèmes Atmosphériques
2 IMPMC - Institut de minéralogie, de physique des matériaux et de cosmochimie
3 LRMH - Laboratoire de recherche des monuments historiques
4 ISTO - Institut des Sciences de la Terre d'Orléans - UMR7327

This work aims at identifying the reactive zones inside limestone used in monuments exposed to fog. The location of these zones and the depth of the water penetration front is of primary relevance to evaluate the transport of aggressive species and the influence of environmental conditions on alteration mechanisms and kinetics of limestone exposed to the atmosphere. We report here the results of weathering experiments conducted in a deuterium-enriched environment and the characterization of reactive zones analyzed by NanoSIMS. It was determined that water penetrated several hundred micrometers inside the limestone and that only the first micrometers were significantly altered.

Keywords: limestone; deuterium tracing; water penetration front; alteration mechanisms

Domains: Sciences of the Universe [physics]; Continental interfaces, environment

Mandana Saheb, Aurélie Verney-Carron, Laurent Remusat, Rémi Duhamel, Adriana Gonzalez-Cano, et al.. Isotope tracers to investigate reactive zones in stones from built cultural heritage. 11th Applied Isotope Geochemistry Conference, BRGM Orléans, Sep 2015, Orléans, France. pp.56-59, ⟨10.1016/j.proeps.2015.07.013⟩. ⟨insu-01241526⟩