Figure 9-5. Four crystals of columnar calcite (C1 to C4) in a stalactite from Egypt. Note the roughly horizontal inclusion-rich bands visible in parts of these crystals, and the parallel linear inclusions (arrows) within those banded areas. Microprobe analyses of the banded inclusion-rich material reveal high Sr2+ concentrations suggestive of an original mineralogy of aragonite. That would suggest that the four columnar calcite crystals have formed via recrystallization of aragonite.    The rectangle at lower left encloses an area shown in another image at higher magnification. Details within that image suggest that the euhedral clear areas at the bottom of this image have formed via recrystallization of the inclusion-rich calcite.    Photomicrograph was taken in cross -polarized light with a gypsum plate in the light path; field of view is 2.3 mm wide. Wadi Sannur Cavern, Egypt; Sample EE9; thin section EE9. Sample collected by Dr. Adel Dabous.
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