Abstract
This article presents the results of a comprehensive geochronological study of organic-rich sediments lying at the base of the sand suite in the well-known reference Belyi Yar II section on the left bank of the Irkut river (Tunka depression, Southwestern Cisbaikalia). It was found that in the 1960s, a pack of lake-marsh sediments from the lower part of the section was assigned to the upper Eopleistocene, and the overlying sands to the Samarovo period of the Middle Pleistocene. Later, based on the first 14C datings, the stratigraphy of these sediments was revised. The lower part of the sediments was attributed to the Karginsky time, and the overlying sands to the Sartanian glaciation. However, the questions concerning the genesis, age and conditions of formation of these sediments remain controversial. In particular, the individual dates of 14C differ greatly from one another; therefore, they require further verification. A renewed study of the lower part of the Belyi Yar II section discovered peat and gyttjas deposits of alluvial origin. It was shown that their numerical age is beyond the 14C dating method limits. Paleobotanical data showed that the gittya was formed in conditions of a relatively warm and humid climate, and the overlying layers accumulated in the cooling and more xerophytic condition. Evaluation of the 230Th/U isochronous age of these organogenic deposits, combined with palynological data, suggested that the bottom of the sand layer in the Belyi Yar II section was not formed during the Karginsky time (MIS 3), as was thought previously, but during MIS 5. The gittya could have formed during MIS-5c, whereas the overlying peat layers formed, possibly, at the transition to MIS-5b.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Logachev, N.A. Cenozoic Continental Deposits of Baikalian Type Hollows, Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Geol., 1958, no. 4, pp. 18–29 [in Russian].
Ravskii, E.I. and Golubeva, L.V., The Eopleistocene of the Tunka Depression, DAN SSSR, 1960, vol. 135, no. 5, pp. 1207–1210 [in Russian].
Ravskii, E.I., Aleksandrova, L.P., Vangengeim, E.A., Gerbova, V.G., and Golubeva, L.V., Anthropogenic Deposits in the South of Eastern Siberia, Tr. Geol. Inst. AN SSSR, Moscow: Nauka: 1964, issue 105 [in Russian].
Olyunin, V.N., The Origin of the Relief of Reborn Mountains, Moscow: Nauka, 1978 [in Russian].
Osadchii, S.S., Evidence of Maximum Transgression of Baikal, Geogr. Prir. Resur., 1995, no. 1, pp. 179–189 [in Russian].
Mats, V.D. and Efimova, I.M., Geology of the Baikal Hollow, in Baicology, Novosibirsk: Nauka, 2012, in 2 vols., vol. 1, pp. 335–403 [in Russian].
Shchetnikov, A.A. and Ufimtsev, G.F., Structure of the Relief and Recent Tectonics of the Tunka Rift (Southwestern Cisbaikalia), Moscow: Nauchnyi Mir., 2004 [in Russian].
Shchetnikov, A.A., Klementiev, A.M., Filinov, I.A., and Semeney, E.Yu., Large Mammals From the Upper Neopleistocene Reference Sections in the Tunka Rift Valley, Southwestern Baikal Region, Stratigr. Geol. Correl., 2015, vol. 23, issue 2, pp. 214–236.
Adamenko, O.M., Belova, V.A., Popova, S.M., Adamenko, R.S., Ponomareva, E.A., and Efimova, L.I., Biostratigraphy of Upper Pleistocene Deposits in the Tunka Depression, Geol. Geofiz., 1975, no. 6, pp. 78–85 [in Russian].
Belova, V.A., Vegetation and Climate of the Late Cenozoic of the South of Eastern Siberia, Novosibirsk: Nauka, 1985 [in Russian].
Sher, A.V. and Plakht, I.R., Radiocarbon Dating and Problems of the Stratigraphy of the Lowland Pleistocene in the North-East of the USSR, Izv. Akad. Nauk, Ser. Geol., 1988, no. 8, pp. 17–33 [in Russian].
Arkhipov, S.A., The Chronology of Geological Events of the Late Pleistocene of Western Siberia, Geol. Geofiz., 1997, vol. 38, no. 12, pp. 1863–1884 [in Russian].
Astakhov, V.I., Arslanov, Kh.A., Maksimov, F.E., Kuznetsov, V.Yu., Razina, V.V., and Nazarov, D.V., The Age of Interglacial Peat Bed on the Lower Ob, Dokl. Akad. Nauk, 2005, vol. 401, no. 1, pp. 95–99 [in Russian].
Astakhov, V.I., The Middle and Late Neopleistocene of the Glacial Zone of Western Siberia: Problems of Stratigraphy and Paleogeography, Byul. Komissii po Izucheniyu Chetvertichnogo Perioda, 2009, no. 69, pp. 8–24 [in Russian].
Maksimov, F.E., Savelieva, L.A., Laukhin, S.A., Kuznetsov, V.Yu., Arslanov, Kh.A., Petrov, A.Yu., Grigoriev, V.A., and Levchenko, S.B., New Data on Age and Conditions of Buried Organic-Rich Sediments in the Central Ob River, Contemp. Probl. Ecol., 2017, vol. 10, issue 4, pp. 370–379.
Kind, N.V., Geochronology of the Late Anthropogene as Deduced From Isotopic Data, Moscow: Nauka, 1974 [in Russian].
Catalog of Radiocarbon Dates, Compiled by L.V. Firsov, V.A. Panychev and L.A. Orlova, Novosibirsk: Izd. Inst. Geologii i Geofiziki SO AN SSSR, 1985 [in Russian].
Kul’chitskii, A.A., Osadchii, S.S. and Misharina, V.A., Results From Studying Sand Deposits of the Tunka Depression (Profiles Belyi Yar I and II), Abstract Book of the Irkutsk Geomorphological Seminar: Lectures in Commemoration of N.A. Florensov “Relief and Man” (September 2004, Irkutsk), Izd. Inst. Zemnoi Kory SO RAN, 1994, pp. 100–103 [in Russian].
Maksimov, F.E. and Kuznetsov, V.Yu., A New Version of the 230Th/U Dating Method of Upper and Middle Pleistocene Buried Organogenic Sediments, Vestn. Sankt-Peterb. Univ., Ser. 7, 2010, issue 4, pp. 94–107 [in Russian].
Arslanov, Kh.A., Radiocarbon: Geochemistry and Geochronology, Leningrad: Izd. Leningr. Univ., 1987 [in Russian].
Grichuk, V.P. and Zaklinskaya, E.D., Analysis of Fossil Pollen and Spores and Its Application in Paleogeography, Moscow: Geografgiz, 1948 [in Russian].
Nikitin, V.P., The Paleocarpological Method, Tomsk: Izd. Tom. Univ., 1969 [in Russian].
Maksimov, F.E., Savelieva, L.A., Laukhin, S.A., Larin, S.I., Arslanov, Kh.A., Kuznetsov, V.Yu., Grigoriev, V.A., and Starikova, A.A., Geochronometric Characterization and Formation Conditions for the Lacustrine-Alluvial Layer in Profile Belyi Yar-II (Tunka Depression), Proc. IX All-Russian Conference on Quaternary Research “Fundamental Problems of the Quaternary, results of the Study and the Main Trends of Further Research” (September 15‒20, 2015, Irkutsk), Irkutsk: Izd. Inst. Geografii SO RAN, 2015, pp. 297–299 [in Russian].
Yakimova, K.S., Savelieva, L.A. and Popova, S.S., Results of Carpological Investigations of Deposits in Profile Belyi Yar II (Tunka Depression), Proc. XIV All-Russian Palynological Conference “Current Problems of Modern Palynology” (June 5‒8, 2017, Moscow), Moscow: Izd. Mosk. Univ., 2017, pp. 411–413 [in Russian].
BDP-99 Baikal Drilling Project Members, A New Quaternary Record of Regional Tectonic, Sedimentation and Paleoclimate Changes From Drill Core BDP-99 at Posolskaya Bank, Lake Baikal, Quat. Int., 2005, vol. 136, issue 1, pp. 105–121.
Tarasov, P., Granoszewski, W., Bezrukova, E., Brewer, S., Nita, M., Abzaeva, A., and Oberhänsli, H., Quantitative Reconstruction of the Last Interglacial Vegetation and Climate Based on the Pollen Record From Lake Baikal, Russia, Clim. Dyn., 2005, vol. 25, issue 6, pp. 625–637.
Shichi, K., Kawamuro, K., Takahara, H., Hase, Y., Maki, T., and Miyoshi, N., Climate and Vegetation Changes Around Lake Baikal During the Last 350,000 Years, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclim. Palaeoecol., 2007, vol. 248, issue 3‒4, pp. 357–375.
Bezrukova, E.V., Tarasov, P.E., Solovieva, N., Krivonogov, S.K., and Riedel, F., Last Glacial‒Interglacial Vegetation and Environmental Dynamics in Southern Siberia: Chronology, Forcing and feedbacks, Palaeogeogr. Palaeoclimatol. Palaeoecol., 2010, vol. 296, issues 1‒2, pp. 185–198.
Shchetnikov, A.A., Bezrukova, E.V., Maksimov, F.E., Kuznetsov, V.Yu., and Filinov, I.A., Environmental and Climate Reconstructions of the Fore-Baikal Area During MIS 5-1: Multiproxy Record From Terrestrial Sediments of the Ust-Oda Section (Siberia, Russia), J. Asian Earth Sci., 2016, vol. 129, pp. 220–230.
Funding
This work was done with the financial support from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (13–05–00854, 18–35–00571, 20–05–00813).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding authors
Additional information
Translated by V.B.Sochava Institute of Geography SB RAS
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Maksimov, F.E., Savelyeva, L.A., Laukhin, S.A. et al. New Evidence on the Age and Formation Conditions of Pleistocene Deposits in the Eastern Part of the Tunka Depression. Geogr. Nat. Resour. 41, 266–277 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1875372841030087
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1134/S1875372841030087