Pereletki and the initiation of glaciation in Siberia

Abstract

Abstract Modern glaciers present in northern Siberia, adjacent to the Arctic Ocean littoral, develop through the gradual accumulation of windblown snow and firn in river valleys and other depressions. Such snow glaciers (“pereletki”) are largely ephemeral in nature, and produce landscapes dominated by nivation hollows and other snow-related landforms. Deposits associated with pereletki include nival, nival-solifluctionary, and fluvio-nival units. The modern pereletki are considered to represent an initial form of glaciation, and their development can be regarded as an analogue for the formation of nival deposits commonly attributed to a more extensive Sartanian glacial event. Late Quaternary glacial events in Siberia involved both alpine and piedmont glaciation, and widespread development of pereletki in lowland areas. Distinguishing between features and sediments produced by glacial ice, and those attributable to ephemeral pereletki, is necessary for accurate assessment of Late Quaternary glaciation in Siberia