Relict tufa at Miette Hot Springs, Jasper National Park, Alberta, Canada

Abstract

At the Miette Hot Springs site, relict tufa stretches for nearly 500 m along the west side of Sulphur Creek valley and rises up to 30 m above the valley floor. The tufa, composed of low-Mg calcite, precipitated from waters discharged from a line of perched springs.14C dating of bone material embedded in the tufa indicates that tufa precipitation took place between ~4500 and 2500 years BP under cool and moist climatic conditions. The spring biota was dominated by filamentous microbes (mainly Phormidium and Oscillatoria), with fewer diatoms (including Cymbella), testate protozoans (including Quadrulella), ostracodes (including Darwinula, Heterocypris, Cadonia, and Cyclocypris), and various bryophytes. The ecological preferences of these microbes indicate that the spring water had near-neutral pH, was Ca, HCO3, and H2S–SO4rich, and emerged at 50–65 °C. Landslides disrupted the west wall of Sulphur Creek valley during and after tufa growth. The relict tufa is divided into six morphotypes that reflect variations in water flow down the steep and rugged flow path. Domal tufa is located around the spring vents, roll-over tufa developed where water flowed over sharp lips or structural barricades, vertical tufa formed where calcite was precipitate from water flowing down steep to vertical inclines, flat-banded tufa reflects precipitation on a gentle slope, and wedge-shaped tufa formed where more rapid downslope calcite precipitation caused a progressive decrease in slope. The tufa contains stromatolitic facies (including streamer, porous laminar, dense laminar) and nonstromatolitic facies (bedded, crenulated) that reflect variations in the biology, water temperature, and style of flow of different parts of the spring flow path.