Guwahati, Mar 10: Bats, spiders, shrimps, and pillbugs are common to see in a cave.

But now a striking environmental phenomenon has been noticed in Meghalaya’s Mawmluh Cave, where pollutants such as cloth, plastic, and aluminium items have undergone calcification, integrating into the cave’s geological features. This phenomenon highlights the unintended consequences of pollution in a globally significant geological site.

Mawmluh Cave, also known as Mawkhyrdop Cave, is famous as the stratotype area for the Meghalayan Age, the youngest stage of the Holocene Epoch. The cave, located near Sohra (Cherrapunji), has drawn the attention of geologists and tourists alike due to its unique limestone formations, underground streams, and scientific significance. However, researchers from the Geological Survey of India (GSI) and other institutions have now documented a growing concern—material pollutants transported by seasonal floods have been accumulating in the cave, and some of these have undergone calcification over the years.

Calcification is the process by which calcium salts build up in a material, often hardening it over time. This can happen naturally in biological systems, like in bones and teeth, or in environmental settings, such as in caves where minerals in water deposit onto surfaces. In the case of Mawmluh Cave, pollutants like plastic, cloth, and metal have undergone calcification due to continuous exposure to mineral-rich water, leading to their integration into the cave’s structure.

The Mawmluh cave is carved out within Lakadong Limestone by the Ummulah River. Since it originates and flows through Sohra town and other populated localities it has been polluted by trash through the years. The cave is located amidst a moderately thick forest on one side and an open-cast limestone mining zone, on the other side. This cave, with a combined length of about 7194 m of passages, is one of the longest in the Indian sub-continent.

The study, published in the Journal of the Geological Society of India, reports that items such as plastic, tin, and fabric have been carried into the cave by the Wah Ummulah River, which flows through nearby villages. Over time, the high mineral content in the cave’s water has led to the calcification of some objects. “A whole calcified piece of cloth draped on a small ledge of a fractured cave wall was astoundingly calcified with the outer pattern of the cloth’s laces pristinely preserved. The embroidery was the only evidence of the calcified cloth, which would have been difficult to identify since some speleothems can resemble man-made objects. The calcified cloth was possibly a torn piece of a​ pillow cover, bed sheet or table cloth or a lady’s garment lined with an outer lace” the study says.

Other items found are medicinal plastic bottles, pencils and parts of pen items, caught in nooks and crannies of a small fracture traversing the limestone.

Mawmluh Cave is already under stress from nearby limestone mining and pollution from surrounding settlements. While conservation efforts, including annual cleaning drives led by the local community and the Meghalaya Adventurers Association, have helped reduce litter, still, pieces of plastic cloth, bags, gunny sacks and ropes are being noticed usually dangling from the protruding hook-like speleothem features adorning the cave walls and roof ceiling. “These pollutants are also noted to litter the cave floor at places. Other items like bottles, tin cans, pencils and pen parts were noted to be stuck up along small scale fracture openings” researchers say.

Beyond the environmental implications, scientists believe these calcified artefacts could serve as a record of human activity and pollution in the Meghalayan Age. “Studying the composition of these calcified objects may provide insights into recent climate conditions and the impact of pollution on subterranean ecosystems,” the researchers noted.

As Mawmluh Cave is also recognized as a heritage site, experts suggest that some of these calcified artefacts should be preserved for scientific research and public awareness. “These recently formed items are destined to ultimately become unrecognizable in the future because of the continuous carbonate activities and calcification. Therefore, it is proposed that some of these calcified cloth items may be carefully removed and be preserved in a museum before they are lost to the active chemical processes” the study says.

Researchers say isotope studies, if taken up on these items, can give some insights into the climatic​ conditions and pollution of the very recent years.

Read: Assam Cabinet Seeks NEET Centres in Govt Schools for Fairer Exams

WATCH:

Find latest news from every corner of Northeast India at hubnetwork.in, your online source for breaking news, video coverage.

Also, Follow us on-

Twitter-twitter.com/nemediahub

Youtube channel- www.youtube.com/@NortheastMediaHub2020

Instagram- www.instagram.com/ne_media_hub

Download our app from playstore – Northeast Media Hub