Absolute dating of sediments forming the Lena river terraces (Northeastern Siberia)

Anzhela N. Vasilieva*, Andrew S. Murray, Natalia A. Taratunina, Jan Pieter Buylaert, Vasiliy M. Lytkin, Grigoriy I. Shaposhnikov, Thomas Stevens, Gábor Ujvari, Titanilla G. Kertész, Redzhep N. Kurbanov

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journal/Conference contribution in journal/Contribution to newspaperJournal articleResearchpeer-review

Abstract

Sediments of the Lena River represent an important environmental archive for understanding the Quaternary history of North-Eastern Siberia. However, at present, the structure, origin and age of the Lena River terraces are poorly known. This article presents results of lithofacies analysis and absolute dating of the Ust’-Buotama section exposing the fourth (Bestyakh) terrace of the Lena River. We report the first quartz and K-feldspar luminescence ages, the reliability of which was argued by age relations and standard tests. Three stratigraphic units have been recognized in the section (depths from the top): lacustrine-alluvial deposits (85–120 m) of the Mavrinka Formation; aeolian sand deposits of the Dolkuma Formation (23–85 m), and Holocene aeolian dune sediments (0–23 m). The resulting chronology suggests that the sediments of the Mavrinka Formation were deposited no later than 300 ka (MIS 9 or later). Deposition of the Dolkuma Formation occurred from ∼30 ka to ∼15 ka (late MIS 3 - late MIS 2). Holocene aeolian dune formed during initial Neoglacial cooling post climatic optimum (c. 5.5 cal ka BP). More extensive Late Holocene dune sediments which formed ∼400 years ago are coeval with Little Ice Age (11th-19th centuries).

Original languageEnglish
Article number101592
JournalQuaternary Geochronology
Volume83
ISSN1871-1014
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Aug 2024

Keywords

  • Aeolian deposits
  • Aeolian dunes
  • Fluvial terraces
  • Holocene
  • Late pleistocene
  • Quaternary

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