I never came across any such study so far that reveals the developmental stages of speleothem formation from start to end. To answer such a question will need continuous cave monitoring. Moreover, there are some works which show, how the morphology and layering pattern can be affected by different climatic events or phases. A latest paper by one of my collaborators has added a new dimension to speleothem science and partly answers your query.

http://www.nature.com/srep/2013/130916/srep02633/full/srep02633.html

Cheers

Mahjoor

You can go through the following Chapter. Its available online.

Fairchild,I.J., Frisia, S., Borsato, A. and Tooth, A.F.2006. Spleleothems.In Geochemical sediments and Landscapes (ed. Nash, D.J. and McLaren, S.J.), Blackwells, Oxford.

This paper will give you a brief idea about speleothems growth, also the references are quite useful if you want to know the subject in depth.

Regards,

shraddha

You may find the following useful:

Charles Self

Which features of the cave environment control the growth of speleothems? (in 15th international congress of speleology; proceedings, White,)

Proceedings of the International Congress of Speleology (2009), 15, Vol. 1 332-337

Mahjoor Lone:: Yeah you are absolutely correct. I do not find much papers on the topic but i seriously find it an interesting aspect to be studied. Many thanks for suggesting the nature's reporting !

Shaddha Band :: Thanks a lot !! However, i had explored the paper before and it is indeed an informative one.

Dominique Dodge-Wan:: Many thanks. Its wonderful. There is so much in the volume to study !!

Pawan, while i have a feeling that you might have come across this paper, i felt of sharing.

www.caves.org/pub/journal/PDF/V65/v65n2-Self.pdf

Cheers

Mahjoor

Majhoor Loone: Well, this was the only paper i could get which gives a comprehensive information about speleothem ontology. It is indeed a master piece. Thanks a lot !!

You might want to check out the book Speleothem Science (http://eu.wiley.com/WileyCDA/WileyTitle/productCd-1405196203.html), as there's an entire section on Speleothem Properties, including their architecture and theoretical models of stalagmite growth etc.

It's available from Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Speleothem-Science-Environments-Quaternary-Geoscience/dp/1405196203

You may want to review:

Alan C. Kendall and Paul L. Broughton, 1977,Discussion: calcite and aragonite fabrics, Carlsbad Caverns: by R. L. Folk and Riccardo Assereto,  Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, volume 46, pages 486-496: Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, volume 47, pages 1397-1400. (renamed Journal of Sedimentary Research)

Alan C. Kendall and Paul L. Broughton, 1978, Origin of fabrics in speleothems composed of columnar calcite crystals. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, volume 48, number 2, pages 519-538. (renamed Journal of Sedimentary Research)

Paul L. Broughton, 1983, Lattice deformation and curvature in stalactitic carbonate.International Journal of Speleology, volume 13, number 1-4, pages 19-30.

Paul L. Broughton, 1983, Environmental implications of competitive growth fabrics in stalactitic carbonate. International Journal of Speleology, volume 13, number 1-4, pages 31-41.

Paul L. Broughton, 1983, Secondary origin of the radial fabric in stalactitic carbonate.International Journal of Speleology, volume 13, number 1-4, pages 43-66.doi: org/10.5038/1827-806X.13.1.4

Dear Prof. Paul. Thank you very much for providing the interesting stuffs. I have already gone through some of these though !