Caracterização morfométrica de cavidades naturais subterrâneas: perspectivas para uma classificação morfológica e planimétrica das cavernas ferríferas no Brasil

Abstract

The speleogenetic processes and environmental conditions that act in ferruginous environments are very different from the classic geochemical mechanisms that favor the morphogenesis of carbonate caves. Under this perspective, the present research proposed to investigate the possible correlation between certain environmental variables with morphological similarities and morphometric attributes of a random sample of 227 iron caves distributed in the Speleological Provinces of Serra dos Carajás (PA) and Quadrilátero Ferrífero (MG). For this purpose, seven morphometric parameters previously elaborated and applied in the analysis of caves in other lithologies were selected, in addition to a supposedly unprecedented index. The parameters were individually explored and later correlated using tools available in the Orange Datamine software to obtain clusters of similar features. Seven preliminary morphological groups were identified, all of which include caves from the two speleological provinces, which suggests that the processes involved in the genesis of the caves in these two areas are similar. Furthermore, it was concluded that for the final concrete success of these studies, specific parameters, preferably in 3D, must be developed to contemplate the specificity of the iron environments.