Determining the age of the megafloods event in the Biya River valley (Altai) through the study of high terrace deposits near Karabinka village

G. G. Rusanov; E. V. Deev; A. V. Shpansky

doi:10.31857/S2949178924040044

Determining the age of the megafloods event in the Biya River valley (Altai) through the study of high terrace deposits near Karabinka village

G. G. Rusanov, E. V. Deev, A. V. Shpansky

https://doi.org/10.31857/S2949178924040044

EDN: FGYQDI

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Abstract

We studied a new section of the high (Biya) terrace on the Biya River near Karabinka village. The two identified sedimentary units – fluvial (lower) and subaerial (upper) – correlate well with known sections of the Biya terrace in the vicinities of Biysk city and Staraya Azhinka village. Results of deposits correlation, radiocarbon and optically simulated luminescence (OSL) dating reveal that the fluvial unit of the Biya terrace was accumulated by an enormous glacierdammed lake outburst megaflood that traveled along the Biya River valley ca. 50–45 ka, during the first half of the interglacial MIS 3 stage. This was followed by the formation of the subaerial cover of the upper part of the terrace. For a long time up to 14.5 ka, dammed lakes existed in the tributaries of the Biya River that were blocked by giant bars. The good convergence of results of radiocarbon and OSL dating indicates that under proper control of the bleaching degree of quartz grains megaflood sands are usable for determination of the ages of large hydrological events. Dating the fluvial unit of the Biya terrace is important since it represents a regional stratigraphic marker that enables the correlation of Upper Pleistocene deposits of the Gorny Altai and the ForeAltai Plain.

Keywords

Upper Pleistocene, megaflood, OSL dating, 14C dating, terrace, Biya River, Gorny Altai, Fore-Altai Plain

About the Authors

G. G. Rusanov

Gorno-Altaisk Expedition of the JSC “Siberian PGO”, Maloeniseyskoe
Russian Federation

E. V. Deev

Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk; Тrofimuk Institute of Petroleum Geology and Geophysics, Siberian Branch of the RAS, Novosibirsk
Russian Federation

A. V. Shpansky

National Research Tomsk State University, Tomsk
Russian Federation

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For citations:

Rusanov G.G., Deev E.V., Shpansky A.V. Determining the age of the megafloods event in the Biya River valley (Altai) through the study of high terrace deposits near Karabinka village. Geomorfologiya i Paleogeografiya. 2024;55(4):42-57. (In Russ.) https://doi.org/10.31857/S2949178924040044. EDN: FGYQDI