Lyell Collection
Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Lyell Centre  |   Lyell Collection  |   Subscriptions   |   Geological Society  |   Email alerts  |   Online bookshop  |   Help

Keywords:
Author:
Advanced search>>
This Article
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow References
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow Request Permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via HighWire
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Rothert, E.
Right arrow Articles by Siegesmund, S.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
GeoRef
Right arrow GeoRef Citation
Geological Society, London, Special Publications; 2007; v. 271; p. 189-198;
DOI: 10.1144/GSL.SP.2007.271.01.19
© 2007 Geological Society of London

Salt decay testing

Stone properties and weathering induced by salt crystallization of Maltese Globigerina Limestone

E. Rothert1, T. Eggers2, J. Cassar3, J. Ruedrich1, B. Fitzner4 & S. Siegesmund1

1 Geoscience Centre, University Göttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 3, 37077 Göttingen, Germany (e-mail: e.rothert{at}wes.de)
2 Geographical Institute of the University Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
3 Institute for Masonry and Construction Research, University of Malta, Malta
4 RWTH Aachen, Germany

Most monuments and buildings in the Maltese Islands are constructed of the local Globigerina Limestone. Today, this Globigerina Limestone shows considerable damage in many buildings, particularly through alveolar weathering, which is frequently very intense. Owing to Malta's marine environment, salt crystallization in the stone's pore spaces has been recognized as the main weathering process responsible for the deterioration of the country's monuments. In order to obtain more information on the fabric-dependent weathering processes of Globigerina Limestone, detailed analyses were carried out. Globigerina Limestone samples obtained from stone types with two different known qualities were characterized according to petrographical, geochemical and physical properties. These included porosity, pore radii distribution and tensile strength, as well as water and humidity transport properties. Investigations by means of salt crystallization tests on quarry samples of both stone types reinforced the idea that the extent of salt weathering depends on salt type and concentration and pore-space properties. Visible weathering damage was recorded and evaluated for a representative monument (the Church of Santa Marija Ta' Cwerra in Siggiewi) by means of a monument mapping method, which was carried out twice over a period of 9 years (1995 and 2004). The identified weathering forms were also correlated with a previously developed weathering model for Globigerina Limestone. According to the results of the mapping, salt analyses carried out on samples from the church and salt-loading tests on quarry samples, there exists a significant correlation between visible damage and salt load. The zoning of weathering damage is obviously related to different salt concentrations. The zone with severe weathering damage is characterized by a high concentration of halite. Consequently, salt weathering represents the main damage process for the Globigerina Limestone of Malta.





This article has been cited by other articles:


Home page
 Geological Society, London, Special PublicationsHome page
B. J. Smith and R. Prikryl
Diagnosing decay: the value of medical analogy in understanding the weathering of building stones
Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 2007; 271: 1 - 8.
[Abstract] [PDF]