Application of rock weathering and colonization by biota for the relative dating of moraines from the arid part of the Russian Altai mountains
- Author:
- Ganyushkin D.A., Lessovaia S.N., Vlasov D.Y., Kopitsa G.P., Almásy L., Chistyakov K.V., Panova E.G., Derkach E. & Alekseeva A.
- Year:
- 2021
- Journal:
- Geosciences
- Pages:
- 11: 342 [22 p.]
- Url:
- https://doi.org/10.3390/geosciences11080342
For the Altai Mountains’ region, especially the arid southeastern part of the Russian Altai,
the data on glacier fluctuations in the Pleistocene and Holocene are still inconsistent. The study area
was the Kargy River’s valley (2288–2387 m a.s.l.), a location that is not currently affected by glaciation and the glacial history of which is poorly studied. Field observations and geomorphological
mapping were used to reveal the configuration of Pleistocene moraines. The relative dating method
was applied to define the degree of weathering as an indicator of age. Three moraine groups of
different ages (presumably MIS 6, MIS 4, and MIS 2) were identified based on a detailed investigation of their morphological features and the use of relative dating approaches. The latter were primarily based on weathering patterns. Data on the rock mineralogy, porosity, and specificity of biological colonization as an agent of weathering were obtained for the moraine debris. The studied
moraines were composed of fine-grained schist, in which the specific surface area and fractality
(self-similarity) were more developed in the older moraine. The growth of biota (crustose lichen
and micromycetes) colonizing the rock surface led to rock disintegration and the accumulation of
autochthonous fragments on the rock surface. Despite the fact that the initial stage(s) of moraine
weathering affected by biota was fixed, the correlation trends of biota activity and moraine ages
were not determined.
Keywords: biota colonization; weathering; rock porosity; Pleistocene moraines; moraine relative dating.
- Id:
- 33715
- Submitter:
- zdenek
- Post_time:
- Wednesday, 13 October 2021 10:16

