Articles | Volume 17, issue 2
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-477-2023
© Author(s) 2023. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
07 Feb 2023
Research article |
| 07 Feb 2023
| 07 Feb 2023
Mountain permafrost in the Central Pyrenees: insights from the Devaux ice cave
Miguel Bartolomé
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto
Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
Institut für Geologie und Mineralogie, Universität zu Köln, Zülpicher Strasse 49b, 50674, Cologne, Germany
Gérard Cazenave
Société de Spéléologie et de Préhistoire des
Pyrénées Occidentales (SSPPO), 5 allée du Grand Tour, 64000 Pau,
France
Marc Luetscher
Swiss Institute for Speleology and Karst Studies (SISKA), La Chaux-de-Fonds, Switzerland
Christoph Spötl
Institute of Geology, University of Innsbruck, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
Fernando Gázquez
Water Resources and Environmental Geology Research Group, Department of
Biology and Geology, University of Almería, Almería, Spain
Andalusian Centre for the Monitoring and Assessment of Global Change (CAESCG), University of Almería, Almería, Spain
Ánchel Belmonte
Sobrarbe-Pirineos UNESCO Global Geopark, Boltaña, Spain
Alexandra V. Turchyn
Godwin Laboratory for Palaeoclimate Research, Department of Earth
Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
Juan Ignacio López-Moreno
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto
Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
Ana Moreno
Departamento de Procesos Geoambientales y Cambio Global, Instituto
Pirenaico de Ecología-CSIC, Zaragoza, Spain
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Cited
14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Size–shape–stable isotope (C and O) relationships of cryogenic cave carbonates formed in permafrost settings Y. Dublyansky et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122183
- Rockfall-induced debris flow event in the Pyrenees: The case of Pineta valley of September 2022 J. Ballesteros-Cánovas et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2025.108876
- Unprecedent cave ice melt in the last 6100 years in the Central Pyrenees (A294 ice cave) C. Sancho et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6283-2025
- Microbial communities and biomineralization potential within mountain permafrost of the Devaux ice cave in the Central Pyrenees V. Muñoz-Hisado et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37305-4
- Cryogenic cave carbonates: New insights from alpine ice caves C. Spötl & G. Koltai https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.122808
- Modelling the effect of free convection on permafrost melting rates in frozen rock clefts A. Sedaghatkish et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4531-2024
- Ice caves in the Pyrenees M. Leunda et al. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.15.30307
- Las cuevas heladas ante el cambio climático M. Gómez Lende & E. Serrano https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.15.30220
- De la glace souterraine au-delà des limites de la cryosphère. Fonctionnement glaciologique et usages de la Grande Glacière du Parmelan (massif des Bornes, France) L. Ravanel et al. https://doi.org/10.4000/13569
- Cryogenic cave minerals recorded the 1889 CE melt event in northeastern Greenland A. Donner et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023
- Un inventaire des glacières et des névières des Alpes françaises du nord G. Flinois et al. https://doi.org/10.4000/14e89
- Barite crystallization at the freezing point: Cryogenic mineral assemblage from cave glaciated in late Pleistocene S. Milovská et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.123172
- Mode of formation of cryogenic cave carbonates: Experimental evidence from an Alpine ice cave C. Spötl et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2023.121712
- Microbial diversity in Pyrenean ice caves: extreme cryogenic environments as analogues for extraterrestrial habitability V. Muñoz-Hisado et al. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsmc/xtag033
14 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Size–shape–stable isotope (C and O) relationships of cryogenic cave carbonates formed in permafrost settings Y. Dublyansky et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2024.122183
- Rockfall-induced debris flow event in the Pyrenees: The case of Pineta valley of September 2022 J. Ballesteros-Cánovas et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2025.108876
- Unprecedent cave ice melt in the last 6100 years in the Central Pyrenees (A294 ice cave) C. Sancho et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-19-6283-2025
- Microbial communities and biomineralization potential within mountain permafrost of the Devaux ice cave in the Central Pyrenees V. Muñoz-Hisado et al. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-37305-4
- Cryogenic cave carbonates: New insights from alpine ice caves C. Spötl & G. Koltai https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.122808
- Modelling the effect of free convection on permafrost melting rates in frozen rock clefts A. Sedaghatkish et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-18-4531-2024
- Ice caves in the Pyrenees M. Leunda et al. https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.15.30307
- Las cuevas heladas ante el cambio climático M. Gómez Lende & E. Serrano https://doi.org/10.7203/metode.15.30220
- De la glace souterraine au-delà des limites de la cryosphère. Fonctionnement glaciologique et usages de la Grande Glacière du Parmelan (massif des Bornes, France) L. Ravanel et al. https://doi.org/10.4000/13569
- Cryogenic cave minerals recorded the 1889 CE melt event in northeastern Greenland A. Donner et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/cp-19-1607-2023
- Un inventaire des glacières et des névières des Alpes françaises du nord G. Flinois et al. https://doi.org/10.4000/14e89
- Barite crystallization at the freezing point: Cryogenic mineral assemblage from cave glaciated in late Pleistocene S. Milovská et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2025.123172
- Mode of formation of cryogenic cave carbonates: Experimental evidence from an Alpine ice cave C. Spötl et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemgeo.2023.121712
- Microbial diversity in Pyrenean ice caves: extreme cryogenic environments as analogues for extraterrestrial habitability V. Muñoz-Hisado et al. https://doi.org/10.1093/femsmc/xtag033
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 15 Aug 2026
Short summary
In this work we study the microclimate and the geomorphological features of Devaux ice cave in the Central Pyrenees. The research is based on cave monitoring, geomorphology, and geochemical analyses. We infer two different thermal regimes. The cave is impacted by flooding in late winter/early spring when the main outlets freeze, damming the water inside. Rock temperatures below 0°C and the absence of drip water indicate frozen rock, while relict ice formations record past damming events.
In this work we study the microclimate and the geomorphological features of Devaux ice cave in...
