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The glacial history of Greece: a comprehensive review

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Abstract

This paper reviews the glacial history of the mountains of Greece at the southernmost tip of the Balkans, providing a new synthesis of our current understanding of glaciations. The ice cover during the largest Middle Pleistocene glaciations (MIS 12/MIS 6) was more extensive than previously thought. Latest evidence from Mt Chelmos suggests that valley glaciers radiated from a central plateau ice field, whereas the findings of other glacial studies in western Balkans further indicate that extensive ice field/ice caps formed on mountains throughout this region during the Middle Pleistocene glaciations. Ice extent was considerably smaller during the Tymphian Stage (MIS 5d–MIS 2) and this has been confirmed by cosmogenic exposure ages in recent studies on Mt Olympus and Mt Chelmos. During the Holocene, only very small glaciers formed in some deep cirques where they survived because of strong local topoclimatic controls. A comparative analysis with the findings of other glacial and palaeoclimatic studies in the Balkans is also presented to highlight correlations between them. Moisture supply seems to have been the most critical factor for the formation of glaciers in the mountains of Greece. The comparison of Late Pleistocene Equilibrium Line Altitudes (ELAs) across the Balkans indicates a wetter climate in southern Greece that can be attributed to different palaeoatmospheric circulation mechanisms and precipitation regime in central Mediterranean. Conclusively, whilst important information has been added in the last 2 decades, this paper highlights the need for further research in Greece and the wider Balkans to establish the timing and extent of glaciations.

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modified from Pope et al. 2017). Some morphostratigraphical units are diachronous, like for example Unit 2 moraines that differ in age in different valleys (see Table 4)

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source: Climatic Atlas of Greece—https://climatlas.hnms.gr). 1. Pindus Mountains, 2. Mt Olympus, and 3. Mt Chelmos

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Acknowledgements

We thank Philip Hughes (University of Manchester) for his input, advice, and editing of this paper. We also thank M. Akif Sarikaya (Istanbul Technical University) and an anonymous reviewer for their very useful and detailed reviews, which helped to improve this paper. We thank Adriano Ribolini (University of Pisa) and Matteo Spagnolo (University of Aberdeen) for the insightful discussions and advice on glacial evidence in central Greece.

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  1. Department of Geography, Harokopio University, 70 El. Venizelou str. 17671, Athens, Greece

    A. D. Leontaritis & K. Pavlopoulos

  2. Department of Historical Geology and Palaeontology, Faculty of Geology and Geoenvironment, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, University Campus, Zografou, Athens, Greece

    K. Kouli

  3. Sorbonne University Abu Dhabi, P.O. 38044, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates

    K. Pavlopoulos

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  1. A. D. Leontaritis
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Leontaritis, A.D., Kouli, K. & Pavlopoulos, K. The glacial history of Greece: a comprehensive review. Med. Geosc. Rev. 2, 65–90 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42990-020-00021-w

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