Condensation water in heritage touristic caves: Isotopic and hydrochemical data and a new approach for its quantification through image analysis Liñán, Cristina Benavente Herrera, José del Rosal, Yolanda Vadillo, Iñaki Ojeda, Lucía Carrasco, Francisco Cave conservation Corrosion condensation Hydrochemistry This work is the result from the studies performed by the Geology area of the General Project for Interdisciplinary Research of the Nerja Cave, which is specifically aimed at the conservation of the cavity. The project is financed by the Nerja Cave Foundation, coordinated by its Research Institute and authorized by the Consejería de Cultura (Junta de Andalucía). The authors thank GeoTranslations for revising the English text, Manuela Vega for her support with image analysis methodology and three anonymous reviewers who have contributed to improving this article. This work is a contribution to the Research Groups RNM-308 and RNM-126 of the Junta de Andalucía. Condensation water is a major factor in the conservation of heritage caves. It can cause dissolution of the rock substrate (and the pigments of rock art drawn on it) or covering thereof with mineral components, depending on the chemical saturation degree of the condensation water. In show caves, visitors act as a source of CO2 and thus modify the microclimate, favouring negative processes that affect the conservation of the caves. In spite of their interest, studies of the chemical composition of this type of water are scarce and not very detailed. In this work we present research on the condensation water in the Nerja Cave, one of the main heritage and tourist caves in Europe. The joint analysis of isotopic, hydrochemical, mineralogical and microbiological data and the use of image analysis have allowed us to advance in the knowledge of this risk factor for the conservation of heritage caves, and to demonstrate the usefulness of image analysis to quantify the scope of the possible corrosion condensation process that the condensation water could be producing on the bedrock, speleothem and rock art. To our knowledge, this application of image analysis (relative to the condensation water in caves) is the first one of this type that has been documented. 2026-01-19T10:28:43Z 2026-01-19T10:28:43Z 2021 journal article Liñán, C.; Benavente Herrera, J.; del Rosal, Y. [et al.]. (2021). Condensation water in heritage touristic caves: Isotopic and hydrochemical data and a new approach for its quantification through image analysis. Hydrological Processes, Volume 35, Issue 5 e14083. https://doi.org/10.1002/hyp.14083 1099-1085 0885-6087 https://hdl.handle.net/10481/109870 10.1002/hyp.14083 eng http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ open access Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internacional Wiley