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Geoinformatics-8-2008
article scanning the caves of naica in mexico l a s e r s c a n n i n g te c h n o lo g y i n e x t re m e e n v i ro n m e n t s image 1 a general overview of the cueva de los cristales (roberta tedeschi, speleoresearch & films and la venta exploring team archives). the mine of naica, in chihuahua, mexico became world famous at the beginning of the last century when gypsum crystals found there proved to be the largest in the world at that time. in 2001, three new caves were discovered in the same mine containing truly gigantic gypsum crystals. in 2005 an international program was launched to study all the scientific aspects related to the gypsum crystals. particularly important was verification by the italian company virtualgeo, as to the possibility of surveying the caves with laser scanning technology, with the intention of generating a three-dimensional digital model of the cueva de los cristales with the proprietary software cloudcube. by erminio paolo canevese, roberta tedeschi and paolo forti. ince the beginning of its exploitation at the end of 19th century, the mine of naica has been revealed to be one of the richest in silver on earth. its international fame increased in 1910 when the mining activity discovered just 120 meters deep from the entrance, a cave (the cueva de las espadas). although just a small cave, it was composed of an 87 meter corridor, which was completely covered with gypsum crystals which were as much as two meters in length. the cave was rapidly stripped of a large part of its treasures, which s are exhibited today in many of the most important mineralogical museums around the world. after almost 100 years, 170 meters below the surface, the mining advancement works discovered another three natural cavities containing huge, very transparent gypsum crystals. here in the cueva de los cristales, they can reach up to 12 meters in length and almost 2 meters in diameter, creating a true forest of crystals (image 1). from 2001 to 2008 few persons could visit such an extraordinary site. however, for the past two years a multidisciplinary, systematic study on the caves of naica and their gigantic gypsum crystals, has been underway, thanks to an agreement between compagnia penoles, the mine owner, speleoresearch & films from mexico city and the italian exploring team la venta. the purpose of the project, which will last four years, is not just to carry out multidisciplinary research in the various fields of interest concerning the caves, but also to search for a december 2008 6
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