Abstract
Sulfur and oxygen isotopic composition of sulfate minerals from the Kungur and Kinderlinskaya caves located in the Urals was studied. The sulfur isotopic composition has a small enrichment in a light sulfur isotope in comparison with gypsum and anhydrite of host rocks in the Kungur cave, which shows a slight fractionation during crystallization from aqueous solutions. Oxygen isotopic ratios have the average value +1.52‰, VSMOW in the Kungur cave. Secondary sulfates have approximately similar values of the oxygen isotopic composition with sulfate from the surrounding rocks. The sulfur isotopic composition has values typical for bacterial reduced sulfur compounds in the Kinderlinskaya cave. The mean value of oxygen isotopic ratios is −0.81‰ VSMOW. This can be explained by the enrichment of the heavy oxygen isotope in the process of evaporative saturation and the participation of sediment brines of marine origin contained in the host limestones.
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