The rhythm of natural processes in the area of the Aragats Massif (Armenia) according to the Umroi Lake study data

New results of studying the lakes and glacial deposits on slopes of the highest Aragats volcanic massif in Armenia are analyzed. On the basis of geomorphologic and paleolimnological methods the signs of rhythmic formation of post-glacial relief, and stadial development of moraines and high mountain lakes have been revealed. For the first time echolocation of the lake depression and drilling of the Lake Umroi sediments were carried out, and the radiocarbon dating and data on stratigraphy of the lake sediments were obtained. The morphometric characteristics of the lake were specified based on echolocation. The chronology of stage regression of the recent mountain glaciation is discussed. The age of the Umroi Lake formation in the Aragats massif – about 7000 cal. BP – was determined using the radiocarbon (AMS) dating; it corresponds to the period of the glacier retreat from the terminal moraine of the Bühl stage (in Alpine terminology). The article analyzes published materials of preceding glaciomorphological studies in the Lesser Caucasus and the Aragats Massif. The hypothesis of stadial moraine relief formation on the slopes of the Aragats Massif during the Holocene is based on the Pettersson-Shnitnikov theoretical scheme, which was elaborated for Eurasian mountains. The possibilities of determining the relative age of the formation of moraine relief and lakes on the basis of paleolimnological research are shown. Forms of glacial relief include several generations of stadial terminal moraines and associated lacustrine basins, and reflect the cyclic dynamics of the recent glaciation retreat in the Aragats Massif in line with the centuries-long climatic rhythms of the Holocene. The radiocarbon (AMS) dating of lake sediments in mountain lakes combined with pollen and stratigraphic analysis of bottom sediments could be taken as the most representative approach for indirect identification of the age of adjacent moraine deposits and for studying the rhythmic variability of natural processes during the Holocene.

Armenian Plateau, Aragats Massif, glacial deposits, bottom sediments, AMS-dating, indicators

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