Abstract

TATIS CASTRO, ROY DAVID  and  BARBOSA LOPEZ, AIDA LILIANA. CHEMICAL STANDPOINT ABOUT DETERIORATION AND BIODETERIORATION OF CALCAREOUS ROCKS THAT MAKE PART OF CULTURAL HERITAGE MONUMENTS. Luna Azul [online]. 2013, n.36, pp.247-284. ISSN 1909-2474.

Stony monuments declared as cultural world heritage are deteriorated through the years because of physical, chemical and environmental agents which depend largely on their geographic location. Among these agents are: gust of, winds that wear away the stone eroding it; rainy seasons which bring dissolved salts and cause corrosion because of their chemical reaction with the calcareous material matrix which solubilizes calcium carbonate which is their main component; because of solar radiation all through the year stones lose their color; high humidity allows plants and living forms to grow. Anthropogenic activities which are not environmentally friendly are other important factor: vehicle gas emissions, for example, deteriorate greatly old stone monuments because they are highly corrosive acids. This way, optimal conditions are created for fungi, algae, bacteria, lichens and plants which are invasive and colonizing to live on the stone surface and cause biodeterioration. Since metabolisms of these species involve consumption of inorganic substrates that are present in the stones, they become another factor affecting monument's durability, stability, and aesthetic appearance.

Keywords : Deterioration; biodeterioration; cultural world heritage stony monuments; stone corrosion; stone weathering.

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