Earth’s Cryosphere, 2024, Vol. XXVIII, No. 1, p. 31-42.
CRYOLITHOGENESIS
PALEOECOLOGICAL INDICATORS OF THE CONDITIONS OF PERMAFROST DEVELOPMENT IN THE AREA OF BATAGAY RETROGRESSIVE THAW SLUMP
A.V. Lupachev1,*, Ya.V. Tikhonravova2, P.P. Danilov3, O.G. Zanina1, M.Yu. Cheprasov3, G.P. Novgorodov3
1 Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems in Soil Science, Russian Academy of Sciences, Institutskaya St. 2/2, Pushchino, Moscow Region, 142290 Russia
2 Melnikov Permafrost Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Merzlotnaya St. 36, Yakutsk, 677010 Russia
3 Research Institute of Applied Ecology of the North, Northeastern Federal University, pr. Lenina 43, Yakutsk, 677007 Russia
*Corresponding author; e-mail: a.lupachev@gmail.com
The morphology and properties of frozen strata were studied in the area of the largest retrogressive thermal thaw slump Batagay (Yakutia). A presumably continuous stratigraphic sequence of permafrost sediments accumulated during the Middle and Late Pleistocene (~700–11 ka) and was partially transformed during the Holocene. Based on paleopedological, paleontological, and geocryological data, new suggestions have been made regarding the historical development of the soil-vegetation cover and late glacial fauna in the Yana Plateau region. Two extensive and relatively warm climatic periods favoring the formation of developed soil-vegetation cover have been identified: the first one belongs to MIS 15–17 (600–700 ka) or (depending on the dating method) to MIS 7e (230–250 ka); the second one is more certainly dates back to MIS 5e (110–130 ka).
Keywords: cryogenic ecosystems, permafrost-affected soils, Yakutia, paleoreconstruction, phytoliths.
Recommended citation: Lupachev A.V., Tikhonravova Ya.V., Danilov P.P., Zanina O.G., Cheprasov M.Yu., Novgorodov G.P., 2024. Paleoecological indicators of the conditions of permafrost development in the area of Batagay retrogressive thaw slump. Earth’s Cryosphere XXVIII (1), 31–42.