Seasonal microclimatic dynamics and their impact on the rock art of Cueva del Niño (Aýna, SE Spain)

Authors

  • David Sanz Dpto. Ing. Geológica y Minera, Univ. Castilla la Mancha, Cuenca - Instituto de Estudios Albacetenses “D. Juan Manuel” (IEA) https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1629-2875
  • Luis Trigueros-Ramos Dpto. Geología, Grupo Imerys, Albacete
  • Diego Gil Dpto. Geología, CEACTEMA, Universidad de Jaén
  • Iordanka Dountcheva Dpto. Ing. Geológica y Minera, Univ. Castilla la Mancha, Cuenca
  • Alejandro García-Moreno Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria, Santander
  • Alberto Córcoles Club Deportivo Sierras del Mundo, Paseo de los Plátanos, Riópar, Albacete
  • Mario Sánchez-Gómez Instituto de Estudios Albacetenses “D. Juan Manuel” (IEA) - Dpto. Geología, CEACTEMA, Universidad de Jaén

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.55407/geogaceta113416

Keywords:

cave ventilation, cave monitoring, cave paintings

Abstract

The Cueva del Niño (Aýna) contains Palaeolithic cave art in a geological setting of calcarenitic materials. Its microclimate features three thermal zones: the heterothermal zone, influenced by external climate conditions; the thermal inertia zone, with a stable temperature in winter; and a transition zone, regulated by ventilation. In winter, the cave acts as a heat trap, retaining warmth and humidity, while in summer, convective circulation homogenizes the temperature and reduces relative humidity. These processes promote the formation of carbonate concretions through evapocondensation, which may impact the preservation of rock art. The interaction of these factors highlights the need for comprehensive management to maintain environmental balance.

References

Hill, C. A. y Forti, P., 1997. Cave Minerals of the World. National Speleological Society, 463 p.

García-Moreno, A. (Ed.), 2022. La Cueva del Niño (Aýna, Albacete). Estudios en el 50 Aniversario de su descubrimiento. Instituto de Estudios Albacetenses «Don Juan Manuel», 344p. https://doi.org/10.37927/978-84-18165-69-6

Gázquez, F., Quindós, L., Rábago, D., Fuente, I., Celaya, S., & Sainz, C. (2022). Journal of Hydrology, 606, 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2021.127416

Sánchez-Gómez, M. y Sanz, D., 2022. En: La Cueva del Niño (Aýna, Albacete). Instituto de Estudios Albacetenses.

Promontorio travertínico (Letur)

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Published

2025-12-11

How to Cite

Sanz, D., Trigueros-Ramos, L., Gil, D., Dountcheva, I., García-Moreno, A., Córcoles, A., & Sánchez-Gómez, M. (2025). Seasonal microclimatic dynamics and their impact on the rock art of Cueva del Niño (Aýna, SE Spain) . GEOGACETA, 78, 63–66. https://doi.org/10.55407/geogaceta113416

Issue

Vol. 78 (2025): Julio-Diciembre

Section

Artículos

License

Copyright (c) 2025 David Sanz, Luis Trigueros-Ramos, Diego Gil, Iordanka Dountcheva, Alejandro García-Moreno, Alberto Córcoles, Mario Sánchez-Gómez

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Until the year 2023 the author assigned the copyright to the Sociedad Geológica de España, but from 2024 the author retains the copyright and grants the Sociedad Geológica de España the right of first publication and non-exclusive distribution of each article in all current or future media, while transferring, also non-exclusively, the commercial rights for the distribution of the printed version of Geogaceta. On the other hand, the articles, from the year 2023, are available simultaneously with their publication, under the Creative Commons CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license, which allows copying, transforming the work, but if any transformation is distributed, the new work must be distributed under the same license, and never for commercial purposes, while acknowledging the authorship and original publication in GEOGACETA, so that the only role of copyright is to give authors control over the integrity of their works and the right to be properly acknowledged and cited.

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