Glaciers impact on landscape in mountains

Abstract

The lithomorphological analysis of glacial landforms is an effective approach for to estimate the glaciers' impact on landscape in mountains. Several analytical methods were applied to study marginal Moraines of Central Caucasus, and distinct diagnostic differences were obtained for superficial and basal debris. The latter ones were dominant components in glacial deposits and corresponding landforms. Our investigations pointed to the active role of glaciers in the formation of morphosculpture of high mountains. The petrological analysis of stone particles in the moraines of the Bezenghi Valley helped to establish the dynamics of maximal glacial erosion zone during the Holocene. This zone was migrating successively up the valley in relation to the reduce of glacier size and vice versa. On the base of radiocarbon dating we calculated that mean rate of glacial accumulation was about 4 millimeters per year. This indicator was very close to the rate of glacial erosion, because the sizes of glacial erosion and accumulation zones had approximately the same order.