What was discovered?

Pigment molecules used as paints to make the red, ochre and black colours in the animal paintings in caves of the Cantabria region of Spain can be damaged by carbon dioxide from the air we exhale.

These magnificent paintings are over 20,000 years old, and so since 2002 visitors were not allowed to visit so that they could be preserved for the future.

Moisture (water) in the breath of visitors and an increase in temperature in the caves (caused by visitors' body heat and the light needed to see the paintings) also allow fungi to grow on the cave walls and damage the paintings.

Hmmm - difficult to ask the visitors not to move, breath or perspire!  The numbers of visitors will therefore be restricted to minimise the problem.

How?

Molecules in air we breathe out (exhale), can be analysed using selected ion flow tube mass spectrometry (shortened to SIFT-MS)

Why is it important?

Understanding the chemical processes enable us to take protective measures to preserve the paintings for future generations!