Folia in der Odelsteinhöhle, Steiermark – Erstnachweis im deutschsprachigen Raum

Folia are speleothems resembling small inverted rimstone dams on overhanging cave walls. The present model assumes a genesis below the water table by degassing of CO2 that leads to rising bubbles. Worldwide, they are only known from some two dozens caves, almost all of those caves are hypogenic in origin. A new occurrence of typically formed but small folia from Odelstein cave in the Johnsbach valley (southern Gesäuse Mountains) is described. The morphology and the sediments of this cave are characteristic for epigenic caves. Therefore the source of the CO2 remains speculative.