Extreme climatic phenomena and their impact in the shaping the current relief in the Bucegi-Leaota mountain complex

Ovidiu Murărescu,Mădălina Frânculeasa,George Murătoreanu

doi:10.4316/georeview.2013.22.1.112

Abstract

The shaping of the current relief represents an important direction of study concerning the mountain areas, as these areas are some of the most dynamic relief units in Romania. A series of major relief changes are related to the spatial-temporal evolution and variability of the meteorological parameters that generate the climate features. A special impact in the shaping of the current high mountain areas is generated by the extreme climate phenomena (freezing, extreme precipitations, strong winds, the action of the snow, heat waves and cold waves, generated by the dynamics of the atmospheric circulation). The mountain complex Leaota-Bucegi is characterized, from this perspective, by a great variability of the climate parameters, and at present it includes three major tiers of relief that are being shaped: periglacial, fluvio-torrential and transitional.

Highlights

The shaping of the current relief the mountain complex Bucegi – Leaota has different features for each altitude tier
Extreme climate phenomena are important as they trigger sudden changes of the environmental conditions and of the climate parameters
Extreme climatic phenomena and their impact in the shaping the current relief in the Bucegi – Leaota mountain complex 51 According to the Peltier diagrams, the intensity of the different geomorphological processes varies in relation with altitude

Summary

Introduction

The shaping of the current relief the mountain complex Bucegi – Leaota has different features for each altitude tier. One can note the presence of the periglacial shaping system at the altitudes over 1800 m, a system that imposes a typical relief, characterized by the presence of scree deposits, nival depressions and cryoturbations (frost churning). The predominant types of erosion are the fluviatile erosion and the torrential one, which trigger gravitational processes. Within these morphodynamic layers, extreme climate phenomena are important as they trigger sudden changes of the environmental conditions and of the climate parameters. The most important extreme climate phenomena with implications in the shaping of the relief are snow avalanches, early frosts and late frosts, storms and torrential rains, strong winds. Often produce visible changes in the landscape, such as gelifraction phenomena, scree deposits, uprooted trees

Area under analysis

Work methodology

Results

Conclusions