BOTTOM SEDIMENTS AS A NATURAL RECORD OF DEGLACIATION IN THE BASIN OF LAKE SYLTRANKEL, ELBRUS REGION
M.M. Ivanov1,2, A.L. Gurinov1, V.N. Golosov1,2, N.V. Kuzmenkova1,2, M.Yu. Alexandrin1, M.I. Uspenskiy1,2, I.G. Shorkunov1, E.V. Garankina1,2
1Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia
2Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Keywords: bottom deposits, mountain lakes, mountain glaciers, deglaciation, sediment yield, radioisotopes, varves, paleoarchives, Northern Caucasus
Abstract
Deglaciation history of the Syltrankel high-mountain lake basin (Mt. Elbrus region, Northern Caucasus) from the end of the 19th to the end of the 20th centuries was reconstructed. In 2022, a comprehensive examination of the area was carried out, including sampling of the bottom sediments and following radioisotope dating, structural and textural analysis. Simultaneously, a set of published sources; topographic maps; ground, satellite, and aerial photographs; and field observations was analyzed to determine the positions of the edges of glaciers at different times. In the formation of bottom sediments, four stages were identified correlating with the state of mountain glaciation and changes in the configuration of the lake’s drainage area. Converging results obtained on the basis of independent sources indicate the high methodological value of studying bottom sediments of mountain lakes as one of the few environmental archives that record glaciation changes in the dynamic conditions of high mountains.
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