Chapter 19 - The Romanian Carpathians: glacial landforms during deglaciation (18.9–14.6 ka)

Abstract

The study of Pleistocene glaciers during deglaciation (18.9–14.6ka) has been solved only in a few areas of the Romanian Carpathians, based on the Cosmic-Ray Exposure (CRE) dating method. The geomorphological landscape of the highest massifs indicates that during the deglaciation period, the glaciers remained positioned within the major relief landforms created by the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) glaciers. The complex glacial modelling during deglaciation – erosion and accumulation – modified the preexisting geomorphological landscape details. In the Rodnei Mountains (Eastern Carpathians), the median moraine of the Pietroasa and Şarampin glacier system extended between 1170 and 1360m a.s.l., has an age of 16.7–15.8ka and the Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) is estimated at 1680–1700m. In the Retezat Mountains, Southern Carpathians, the LGM was followed by five deglaciation phases (M2a: 18.4 +0.7/−1.1; M2b: 16.9 ±0.9; M3a: 15.8 +0.9/−0.6; M3b: 15.6 +0.8/−0.8; M4: 14.4 ± 0.5), distinguished by the terminal moraines. In the M2a phase, the most vigorous glaciers descended to 1220–1450m. The reconstructed former ELAs for the most representative glacial complexes, Pietrele on the northern slope and Lăpuşnicu Mare on the southern slope, are the following average values: M2a: 1951m a.s.l.; M2b: 2058m a.s.l.; M3a: 2091m a.s.l.; M3b: 2138m a.s.l. 8; M4: 2138m a.s.l. Also, the 10Be CRE absolute ages from other mountain units (e.g. Făgăraş and Parâng Mountains) support the synchronicity of the deglaciation phases in the Romanian Carpathians. In some areas the glaciers evolved into debris-covered glaciers and, incidentally, into glacier-derived rock glaciers.