Traces of late quaternary glaciations and paleoclimatic interpretation of Mount Akdağ (Alanya, 2451 m), Southwest Turkey

Abstract

Mount Akdag, located 25 km northeast of Alanya (2451 m above sea level a.s.l.), and largely made up of carbonates, is one of the mountains exposed to Late Quaternary glaciation in the Western Taurus Mountains. Although today, there are no modern glaciers, the traces of the Late Quaternary glaciers and rock glaciers are still fresh. In this study, geomorphological features related to the glaciations in Mount Akdag, which were not previously reported in the literature, were first identified from satellite images, and then verified by field studies. The geomorphological development of Mount Akdag during the Quaternary was explained by considering its climatic and karstic characteristics. For this purpose, spatial data obtained from field studies, unmanned aerial vehicles and meteorological stations were analysed using geographic information systems. Akdag is directly open to humid air masses coming from the SW sector over the Mediterranean Sea, resulting in heavy orographic precipitation that encouraged the growth of glaciers. In addition, glacier reconstruction and pELA estimates have been made to contribute to the interpretation of glacial geomorphology. The pELA in Mount Akdag was calculated with the AABR ratio of 1.69, and was found to be around 2030 m a.s.l. More than 15 cirques and a 6.5 km long glacial valley in Mount Akdag indicate the presence of glaciers. Reconstruction of the paleoglaciers shows that the lowest altitude reached was 1410 m a.s.l. At their maximum extent glaciers covered an area of ~ 14 km2, with a volume of ~ 1 km3 and had an average thickness of 60 m with a maximum glacier thickness of ~ 200 m.