Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Basal Moraines: Communication 2. Identification and Some Concepts of Their Genetic Interpretation

  • Published:
Lithology and Mineral Resources Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Common basal moraines display diverse glaciodynamic structures inherited from the parental moraine-containing ice. Since these glacial diamictons are marked by instable structure and composition, they can resemble sediments of another origin and their identification is a difficult task. We cannot make substantiated genetic conclusions based on certain lithological properties typical of glacial diamictons. Only a set of specific features can provide sufficiently reliable determination of their glacial nature. Other methodical approaches applied in different regions, the Barents Sea included, for the identification of glacial diamictons based on the highly superficial analysis of some (usually secondary) features lead to a biased genetic interpretation of moraines.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Andreicheva, L.N., Osnovye moreny evropeiskogo severovostoka Rossii i ikh litostratigraficheskoe znachenie (Main Moraines in the European Northeastern Part of Russia and Their Lithostratigraphic Significance), St. Petersburg: Nauka, 1992.

    Google Scholar 

  • Andreicheva, L.N., Pleistotsen evropeiskogo Severo-Vostoka (Pleistocene in the European North Russia), Yekaterinburg: UrO RAN, 2002.

    Google Scholar 

  • Apukhtin, N.I., Correlation of Upper Pleistocene reference sections in the northwestern Soviet Union and criticism of marinist ideas, in Problemy korrelyatsii noveishikh otlozhenii Severa Evrazii (Problems of the Correlation of Recent Sediments in North Eurasia), Leningrad, 1971, pp. 153–156.

    Google Scholar 

  • Arnaud, E. and Eyles, C.N., Glacial influence on Neoproterozoic sedimentation: the Smalfjord Formation, northern Norway, Sedimentology, 2002, vol. 49, pp. 765–788.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chumakov, N.M., Izuchenie Drevnikh lednikovykh otlozhenii (Study of Ancient Glacial Deposits), Trudy GIN RAN SSSR, 1990, vol. 93.

  • Danilov, I.D., Pleistotsen morskikh subarkticheskikh ravnin (Pleistocene of Marine Subarctic Lowlands), Moscow: MGU, 1978.

    Google Scholar 

  • Danilov, I.D., Genesis of the moraine-type sequences in lowlands of North Russia, Issledovaniya pribrezhnykh ravnin i shel’fa Arkticheskikh morei (Studies of Coastal Plains and Shelf of the Arctic Seas), Danilov, I.D., Ed., Moscow: MGU, 1979.

  • Dibner, V.D., “Ancient clays” and relief of the Barents–Kara shelf–direct evidence of its sheet glaciation in the Pleistocene, in Problemy polyarnoi geografii (Problems of the Polar Geography), Leningrad: Gidrometeoizdat, 1968, pp. 118–122.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dreimanis, A., Are marine fossils in the Quaternary deposits a sufficient evidence for marine deposition?, Baltica, 1970, vol. 4, pp. 313–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dunaev, N.N., Levchenko, O.V., Merklin, L.R., and Pavlidis, Yu.A., The Novaya Zemlya shelf in the Late Quaternary, Okeanologiya, 1995, vol. 35, no. 3, pp. 440–450.

    Google Scholar 

  • Edwards, M.B., Glacial influence on Neoproterozoic sedimentation: Smalfjord Formation, northern Norway–discussion, Sedimentology, 2004, vol. 51, pp. 1409–1417.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elverhøi, A., Glacigenic and associated marine sediments in the Weddell Sea, fjords of Spitsbergen and the Barents Sea: review, Mar. Geol., 1984, vol. 57, pp. 53–88.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Elverhøi, A., Nyland-Berg, M., Russwurm, L., and Solheim, A., Late Weichselian ice recession in the Central Barents Sea, in Geological history of Polar Ocean: Arctic versus Antarctic, Bleil, U. and Thiede, J., Eds., Netherlands: Kluver Acad. Publ., 1990, pp. 289–307.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Morphogenetic features of the coarse-clastic material of Pleistocene boulder loam in the northern European part of the Soviet Union, in Paleogeografiya i poleznye iskopaemye pleistotsena severa Evrazii (Pleistocene Paleogeography and Mineral Resources in North Eurasia), Chochia, N.G., Ed., Leningrad: VGO, 1986, pp. 106–110.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Kompleksnoe obosnovanie raschleneniya i razrabotka skhem stroeniya pokrova noveishikh otlozhenii v osnovnykh neftegazoperspektivnykh raionakh Barentseva morya (Complex substantiation of the division and reconstruction of the cover of recent sediments in major petroliferous areas of the Barents Sea), Riga: VNIImorgeo, 1990a.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., The Vast’yan Kon outcrop in the lower Pechora–a thick section of the terminal moraine buildup at the active margin of the Novaya Zemlya ice cover, Byull. Komiss. Izuch. Chetvert. Perioda, 1990b, no. 59, pp. 14–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Modified five-index scale for the visual estimation of roundness of the clastic material and some results obtained, Lithol. Miner. Resour., 1995, no. 6, pp. 635–644.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Glaciotectonites–basal zone of the Quaternary cover in the southeastern Barents Sea, in Fundamental’nye problemy kvartera: itogi izucheniya i osnovnye napravleniya dal’neishikh issledovanii (Fundamental Problems of the Quarter: Results of the Study and Main Directions for Further Studies), Moscow: GEOS, 2007, pp. 477–480.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Upper Cenozoic glacial shelves - Essential elements of the structure and development of continental margins and volcanic plateau, Byull. Mosk. O-va Ispyt. Prir., Otd. Geol., 2011, vol. 86, no. 2, pp. 76–96.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Late Pleistocene–Holocene sedimentation cycle on glacial shelves, Byull. Mosk. O-va Ispyt. Prir., Otd. Geol., 2012, vol. 87, no. 3, pp. 3–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Basal (Basic) moraines: Problem of the identification and principles of new classification, Lithol. Miner. Resour. 2017, no. 2, pp. 125–146.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Basal (Basic) moraines: Communication 1. Essential lithological features, Lithol. Miner. Resour, 2018, no. 4, pp. 270–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G. and Chistyakova, I.A., The Pechora Sea shelf in the late Weichselian–Holocene: Main sedimentological and paleogeographic events, Byull. Komiss. Izuchen. Chetvert. Perioda, 2005, no. 66, pp. 107–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G. and Gataullin, V.N., Lithology and formation conditions of Quaternary sediments in the eastern (Novaya Zemlya) sector of the Barents Sea, Litol. Polezn. Iskop., 1993, no. 1, pp. 119–124.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G. and Lavrushin, Yu.A., Glaciomarine sedimentation as a specific stage of shelf sediment accumulation, Dokl. Earth Sci., 2003, vol. 393, no. 4, pp. 521–523.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Romanyuk, B.F., and Gataullin, V.N., Pleistocene Scandinavian and Novaya Zemlya ice sheets in the southern Barents Sea and northern Russian plain, Byull. Komiss. Izuchen. Chetvert. Perioda, 1999, no. 63, pp. 132–155.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Starovoitov, A.V., and Dlugach, A.G., “Soft moraines” in the Arctic and Antarctic—a new facies type of glacial deposits, Byull. Mosk. O-va Ispyt. Prir., Otd. Geol., 2010, vol. 85, no. 2, pp. 23–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Dlugach, A.G., Starovoitov, A.V., and Romanyuk, B.F., Pleistocene sediments of the eastern Barents Sea (Central Deep and Murmansk bank areas): Communication 1. Occurrence conditions and main structural features, Lithol. Miner. Resour., 2011a, no. 2, pp. 115–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Dlugach, A.G., Starovoitov, A.V., and Romanyuk, B.F., Pleistocene sediments of the eastern Barents Sea (Central Deep and Murmansk bank areas): Communication 2. Lithological composition and occurrence conditions, Lithol. Miner. Resour., 2011b, no. 3, pp. 220–249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Epshtein, O.G., Dlugach, A.G., and Starovoitov, A.V., Seismostratigraphy of the sedimentary cover as a basis for forecasting engineering-geological conditions on the Barents Sea shelf, Inzhen. Geol., 2014, no. 5, pp. 30–41.

    Google Scholar 

  • Eyles, C.H. and Eyles, N., Glaciomarine sediments of the Isle of Man as a key to the late Pleistocene stratigraphic investigations in the Irish Sea Basin, Geology, 1984, vol. 12, pp. 350–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eyles, N., Eyles, C.H., and Miall, A.D., Lithofacies types and vertical profile models: an alternative approach to the description and environmental interpretation of glacial diamict and diamictite sequences, Sedimentology, 1983, vol. 30, pp. 393–410.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Faleide, J.I., Tsikalas, F., Breivik, A.J., et al., Structure and evolution of the continental margin off Norway and Barents Sea, Episodes, 2008, vol. 31, pp. 82–91.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fielder, A. and Faleide, J.I., Cenozoic sedimentation along the southwestern Barents Sea margin in relation to uplift and erosion of the shelf, Glob. Planet. Change, 1996, vol. 12, pp. 75–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flint, R.F., Sanders, J.E., and Rodgers, J., Diamictite, a substitute term for symmictite, GSA Bull., 1960, vol. 71, pp. 1809–1810.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gataullin, V., Polyak, L., Epstein, O., and Romanyuk, B., Glacigenic deposits of the Central Deep: a key to the Late Quaternary evolution of the eastern Barents Sea, Boreas, 1993, vol. 22, pp. 47–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gataullin, V., Mangerud, J., and Svensdsen, J.I., The extent of the Late Weichselian ice sheet in the southeastern Barents Sea, Glob. Planet. Change, 2001, vol. 31, pp. 453–474.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gol’bert, A.V., Gudina, V.I., Zudin, A.N., et al., Vast’yan Kon: A reference Pleistocene section in the northern Pechora lowland, in Litologiya i usloviya obrazovaniya chetvertichnykh otlozhenii severa Evrazii (Lithology and Formation Conditions of Quaternary Sediments in North Eurasia), Novosibirsk: IGIG SO AN SSSR, 1974, pp. 137–210.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guslitser, B.I., Origin of boulder loam in the northern Ural region, in Geologiya i paleontologiya Severo-Vostoka Evropeiskoi chasti SSSR (Geology and Paleontology of the Northeastern European Part of the Soviet Union), Syktyvkar, 1973, pp. 3–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Guslitser, B.I. and Loseva, E.I., Verkhnii kainozoi Pechorskoi nizmennosti (The Upper Cenozoic in the Pechora Lowland), Syktyvkar: Komi Fil. AN SSSR, 1979.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harland, W.B., Htrod, K.N., and Krinsley, D.H., The definition and identification of tills and tillites, Earth-Sci. Rev., 1966, vol. 2, pp. 225–256.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henriksen, M., Mangerud, J., Maslenikova, O., and Tveranger, J., Weichselian stratigraphy and glaciotectonic deformation along the Pechora River, Arctic Russia, Glob. Planet. Change, 2001, vol. 31, pp. 297–319.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Heroy, D.C. and Anderson, J.B., Ice-sheet extent of the Antarctic Peninsula region during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM)—Insights from glacial geomorphology, GSA Bull., 2005, vol. 117, pp. 1497–1512.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hjort, C., Ingólfsson Ó., Möller, P., and Lirio, J.M., Holocene glacial history and sea-level change on James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula, J. Quat. Sci., 1997, vol. 12, pp. 259–273.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ingólfsson Ó., Hjort, C., Björck, S., and Smith, R.I.L., Late Pleistocene and Holocene glacial history of James Ross Island, Antarctic Peninsula, Boreas, 1992, vol. 21, pp. 209–222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jennings, A., Syvitsky, J., Gerson, L., et al., Chronology and paleoenvironments during the Late Weichselian deglaciation of southwest Iceland shelf, Boreas, 2000, vol. 29, pp. 167–183.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Karrow, P.F., Dreimanis, A., Kemmis, T.J., and Halleberg, G.R., Lihofacies types and vertical profile modes: an alternative approach to the description and environment interpretation of glacial diamict and diamictite sequences, Sedimentology, 1984, vol. 31, pp. 883–890.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Klenova, M.V., Geologiya Barentseva morya (Geology of the Barents Sea), Moscow: AN SSSR, 1960.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kostin, D.A. and Tarasov, G.A., Formation conditions of Quaternary sediments on the southern shelf of the Zemlya Frantsa-Iosifa Archipelago, in Ekologiya antropogena i sovremennosti: priroda i chelovek (Ecology of the Anthropogene and Modern Times), St. Petersburg: Gumanistika, 2004, pp. 107–113.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krapivner, R.B., Rapid sagging of the Barents shelf over the last 15–16 ka, Geotectonics, 2006, no. 3, pp. 197–207.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krapivner, R.B., Indications of neotectonic activity at the Barents Sea shelf, Geotectonics, 2007, no. 2, pp. 149–162.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krapivner, R.B., Origin of friable sediments of the Barents Sea shelf, Lithol. Miner. Esrour., 2009a, no. 1, pp. 87–99.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krapivner, R.B., Origin of diamictons on the Barents Sea shelf, Lithol. Miner. Resour., 2009b, no. 2, pp. 120–134.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Krapivner, R.B., Issue of the genesis of recent sediments on the Barents Sea shelf, Lithol. Miner. Resour., 2014, no. 4, pp. 306–322.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krapivner, R.B, Gritsenko, I.I., and Kostyukhin, A.I., Seismostratigraphy of Recent Sediments in the South Barents Sea Region, in Kainozoi shel’fa i ostrovov Sovetskoi Arktiki (Cenozoic of the Shelf and Islands in the Soviet Arctic), Zarkhidze, V.S. and Kulakov, Yu.N., Eds., Leningrad: PGO Sevmorgeologiya, 1986, pp. 7–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krapivner, R.B., Gritsenko, I.I., and Kostyukhin, A.I., Late Cenozoic seismostratigraphy and paleogeography of the South Barents Sea region, Chetvertichnaya paleoekologiya i paleogeografiya Severnykh morei (Quaternary Paleoecology and Paleogeography of North Seas), Matishov, G.G. and Tarasov, G.A., Eds., Moscow: Nauka, 1988, pp. 103–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krasnov, N.N., Debatable issues in the glacial theory and antiglacialism, in Problemy stratigrafii i paleogeografii (Problems of Stratigraphy and Paleogeography), Leningrad, 1968, pp. 226–249.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lavrushin, Yu.A. and Epshtein, O.G., Pleistocene geological events in the northern part of East Europe and southern Barents Sea: Evidence from natural reference sections, Byull. Komiss. Izuch. Chetvert. Perioda, 2001, no. 64, pp. 35–60.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lisitsyn, A.P., Types of marine sediments associated with the activity of ice, Dokl. AN SSSR, 1958, vol. 118, no. 2, pp. 373–376.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lisitsyn, A.P., Protsessy sovremennogo osadkoobrazovaniya v Beringovom more (Processes of Recent Sedimentation in the Bering Sea), Moscow: Nauka, 1966.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luternauer, J.L., Conway, K.W., Clague, J.J., and Blaise, B., Late Quaternary geology and geochronology of the central shelf of western Canada, Mar. Geol., 1989, vol. 89, pp. 57–68.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • MacLean, B., Vilks, G., Hardy, I., et al., Quaternary sediments in Hudson Strait and Ungava Bay, Geol. Surv. Can. Bull., 2001, pp. 71–125.

    Google Scholar 

  • Moreny i dinamika oledenenii Zapadnoi Sibiri (Moraines and Dynamics of Glaciation in West Siberia) Arkhipov, S.A., Ed., Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1987.

  • Murdmaa, I., Ivanova, E., Duplessy, J.-C., et al., Facies system of the Eastern Barents Sea since glaciation to present, Mar. Geol., 2006, vol. 230, pp. 275–303.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ovenshine, A.T., Observation of iceberg rafting in Glacier Bay, Alaska, and the identification of ancient ice-rafted deposits, GSA Bull., 1970, vol. 81, pp. 891–894.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pavlidis, Yu.A. and Polyakova, E.I., Late Pleistocene and Holocene environments and paleoceanography of the Barents Sea: evidence from seismic and biostratigraphic data, Mar. Geol., 1997, vol. 143, pp. 189–205.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pogodina, I.A., Stratigraphy of Upper Quaternary sediments in the Barents Sea based on foraminifers, Extended Abstract of PhD (Geol.–Miner.) Dissertation, MGU: Moscow, 2000.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pogodina, I.A. and Tarasov, G.A., The sedimentation processes and evolution of foraminiferal communities during the Last Deglaciation on the Barents Sea, Oceanology, 2002, vol. 42, no. 1, pp. 148–152.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polyak, L. and Mikhailov, V., Post-glacial environments of the southeastern Barents Sea: foraminiferal evidence, in Late Quaternary palaeoceanography of the North Atlantic margin, Andrews, J.T., Austin, W.E.N., Bergsten, H., and Jennings, A.E., Eds., Geol. Soc. Spec. Publ., 1996, no. 111, pp. 323–337.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polyak, L., Lehman, S.J., Gataullin, V., and Jull, A.J.T., Two-step deglaciation of the southeastern Barents Sea, Geology, 1995, vol. 23, pp. 567–571.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Polyak, L., Gataullin, V., Okuneva, O., and Stelle, V., New constrains on the limits of the Barents–Kara ice sheet during the Last Glacial Maximum based on borehole stratigraphy from the Pechora Sea, Geology, 2000, vol. 28, pp. 611–614.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Popov, A.I., Pleistocene deposits in the lower course of the Pechora River, in Kainozoiskii pokrov Bol’shezemel’skoi tundry (The Cenozoic Cover of Bol’shaya Zemlya Tundra), Moscow: MGU, 1963, pp. 24–49.

    Google Scholar 

  • Praeg, D.B., Maclean B., Hardy, I.A., and Mudie, P.J., Quaternary geology of southeast Baffin Island continental shelf, Geol. Surv. Can. Paper 85-14, 1986.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rasmussen, E. and Fjelskaar, W., Quantification of the Pliocene-Pleistocene erosion of the Barents Sea from present-day bathymetry, Glob. Planet. Change, 1996, vol. 12, pp. 119–133.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sættem, J., Poole, D.A.R., Ellingsen, L., and Sejrup, H.P., Glacial geology of outer Bjørnøyrenna, southwestern Barents Sea, Mar. Geol., 1992, vol. 103, pp. 15–31.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seismic Stratigraphy–Applications to Hydrocarbon Exploration, Payton, C.E., Ed., Tulsa: Am. Ass. Petrol. Geol., 1977.

  • Translated under the title Seismicheskaya stratigrafiya, Moscow: Mir, 1982.

  • Simonov, A.N., The formation of some specific features of the lithology of Middle and Upper Pleistocene bottom moraines in the northern Pechora lowland, in Protsessy kontinental’nogo litogeneza (Processes of the Continental Lithogenesis), Shantser, E.V., Ed., Moscow: Nauka, 1980, pp. 156–166.

    Google Scholar 

  • Solheim, A. and Kristoffersen, Y., Sediments above the Upper Regional Unconformity: Thickness, Seismic Stratigraphy and Outline of Glacial History, Oslo: Nor. Polarinst. Skr. 179 B, 1984.

    Google Scholar 

  • Svendsen, J.I., Alexanderson, H., Astakhov, V.I., et al., Late Quaternary ice sheet history of northern Eurasia, Quat. Sci. Rev., 2004, vol. 23, pp. 1229–1271.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thomas, G.S.P. and Dackombe, R.V., Comment and reply on “glaciomarine sediments on the Isle Man as a key to Late Pleistocene stratigraphic investigation in the Irish Sea basin,” Geology, 1985, vol. 13, pp. 445–446.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Troitskii, S.L., Sovremennyi antiglyatsializm. Kriticheskii ocherk (Modern Antiglacialism: Critical Essay), Saks, V.N., Ed., Moscow: Nauka, 1975.

  • Tveranger, J., Astakhov, V., Mangerud, J., and Svendsen, J.I., Signature of the last shelf-centered glaciation at a key section in the Pechora Basin, Arctic Russia, J. Quat. Sci., 1998, vol. 13, pp. 189–203.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urvantsev, N.N., Quaternary glaciation in the Taimyr region, Priroda, 1930, no. 4, pp. 422–434.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yakovlev, S.A., Marker boulders, moraines, and domains of the Novaya Zemlya glaciation on the Russian plain, Byull. Komiss. Izuch. Chetvert. Perioda, 1939, no. 5, pp. 21–44.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yashin, D.S and Kosheleva, V.A., Principles of the stratification of the Quaternary sequence on the Barents–Kara shelf, in Glavneishie itogi v izuchenii chetvertichnogo perioda i osnovnye napravleniya issledovanii v XXI veke (tezisy dokl.) (Most Important Results in the Study of Quaternary Period and Main Directions for Studies in the 21st Century: Abstracts of Papers), St. Petersburg: VSEGEI, 1999, pp. 213–214.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pyzhevskii per. 7, Moscow, 119117, Russia

    O. G. Epshtein

Authors
  1. O. G. Epshtein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to O. G. Epshtein.

Additional information

Original Russian Text © O.G. Epshtein, 2018, published in Litologiya i Poleznye Iskopaemye, 2018, No. 5, pp. 444–458.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Epshtein, O.G. Basal Moraines: Communication 2. Identification and Some Concepts of Their Genetic Interpretation. Lithol Miner Resour 53, 404–416 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0024490218050036

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S0024490218050036

Search

Navigation