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Loess Accumulation in the Southern Part of European Russia at the End of the Quaternary Period

  • Thematic Issue on Problems of Geography
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Abstract

The origin of the loess deposits of the Cis-Caucasus Region, which form an almost continuous cover on the plains from the Sea of Azov to the Peri-Caspian Depression, is one of the controversial issues of paleogeography of the southern part of European Russia. The remarkably high thickness (up to 140 m) and extended coastal outcrops in the west and in the east of the region studied is of special interest to geologists and geographers who consider the loess strata as a unique record of climate conditions of the Quaternary period.

The data on the structure, texture, and geochronology of the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene loess deposits, obtained from the study of 25 borehole logs and outcrop sections, distributed through the territory of the Cis-Caucasus region were received. The average sedimentation rates and the average sand fraction content were estimated for the stratigraphic units correlated with the global climatostratigraphic units (marine isotope stages (MIS)). It has been established that the source of the loess (wind erosion areas), are the valleys and estuary alluvial plains of large rivers: the Terek, Kuma, Volga, Kuban, and Don. The Peri-Caspian Depression was the dominant source of mineral dust throughout Late Pleistocene and Holocene. Large massifs of weakly fixed sands and sandy loams of the western Caspian region in combination with a high level of climate aridity and strong east winds created the prerequisites for the transport of huge volumes of mineral dust westward as far as the Sea of Azov.

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Funding

The study of the structure, composition, and age of loess deposits of the Cis-Caucasus was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 21-77-10104). The study of the distribution of eolian sands was carried out as part of a State Assignment of the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences (project no. АААА-А19-119021990092-1 (FMWS-2019-0008)).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, 119017, Moscow, Russia

    E. A. Konstantinov, A. L. Zakharov, N. V. Sychev, E. A. Mazneva & P. A. Morozova

  2. Department of Geography, Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    R. N. Kurbanov

Authors
  1. E. A. Konstantinov
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  2. A. L. Zakharov
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  3. N. V. Sychev
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  4. E. A. Mazneva
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  5. R. N. Kurbanov
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  6. P. A. Morozova
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to E. A. Konstantinov, A. L. Zakharov, N. V. Sychev, E. A. Mazneva, R. N. Kurbanov or P. A. Morozova.

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Translated by D. Voroshchuk

Evgeny Aleksandrovich Konstantinov, Cand. Sci. (Geogr.) Senior Researcher at IG RAS; Andrey Leonidovich Zakharov, Cand. Sci. (Geogr.), Researcher at IG RAS; Nikita Vladislavovich Sychev, Research Engineer at IG RAS; Elena Andreevna Mazneva, Junior Researcher at IG RAS; Redzep Nurmuradovich Kurbanov, Cand. Sci. (Geogr.) Senior Researcher at IG RAS; Senior Researcher at Moscow State University; Polina Anatol’evna Morozova, Junior Researcher at IG RAS.

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Konstantinov, E.A., Zakharov, A.L., Sychev, N.V. et al. Loess Accumulation in the Southern Part of European Russia at the End of the Quaternary Period. Her. Russ. Acad. Sci. 92, 342–351 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1019331622030108

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