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Abstract

In the central Caucasus, the analysis of sedimentological data has revealed reliable diagnostic criteria for the identification of debris originating from different sources and transported under different glaciodynamic environments. In particular, the sharp contrast between debris transported supraglacially and by basal transport has been recognized. Fundamentally different pathways are followed by the debris transported from the surrounding slopes and from the glacier bed. Investigation of glacial deposits, represented by terminal, lateral and medial moraines, has revealed the prevalence of rock fragments derived from the interaction of glaciers with their beds. Temperate glaciers bring about considerable erosion of their beds, a conclusion that challenges concepts that emphasize the relief- preserving influence of such glaciers. It has also proved possible to determine the location of the zone of greatest erosion beneath the recent Caucasian glaciers and to determine its dynamics during the various stages of the Holocene.

Keywords

glacial sedimentology moraines tills glaciers subglacial erosion Caucasus Holocene.

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References

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Debris in tills and moraines as a source of glaciological and palaeoenvironmental information: methodology and applications in the Caucasus

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