Quaternary environmental evolution in the South Carpathians reconstructed from glaciokarst geomorphology and sedimentary archives

• Published in: Geomorphology (Amsterdam, Netherlands) Vol. 354; p. 107038
• Main Authors: Tîrlă, Laura, Drăgușin, Virgil, Bajo, Petra, Covaliov, Silviu, Cruceru, Nicolae, Ersek, Vasile, Hanganu, Diana, Hellstrom, John, Hoffmann, Dirk, Mirea, Ionuț, Sava, Tiberiu, Sava, Gabriela, Şandric, Ionuț
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier B.V 01.04.2020
• Subjects: Carpathians; Glaciated karst; High-altitude cave; Speleothem; High-altitude cave; Glaciated karst; Speleothem; Carpathians
• ISSN: 0169-555X; 1872-695X
• DOI: 10.1016/j.geomorph.2020.107038

The Carpathian island-type glaciokarst has a great potential of preserving signals of past environments, archived in cave deposits like speleothems and clastic infills. We present here the geomorphology and structural control of several relict alpine caves and the surrounding glaciated marble karst in the Făgăraș Mountains. Four truncated and partially unroofed caves remained on the ridge-top of Mușeteica Mountain, above the glacial cirque, while a ponor cave that developed on the cirque bottom could be related to the Last Glacial Period. Structural measurements and cave morphology showed that the conduits formed at the intersection of foliation planes and tectonic fractures on the NE-SW and NW-SE directions. Cave development reflects three speleogenetic stages: 1) texture- and fabric-controlled dissolution and distension; 2) structurally-controlled breakdown; and 3) truncation, unroofing, and cave infilling with sediments. Slow diffuse dissolution was typical for the ridge-top caves, whereas M1 Cave developed by pressure flow. Further, we report the first UTh speleothem ages, related to the evolution of alpine caves and island glaciokarst in the South Carpathians during the Middle and Late Pleistocene. Dating results show a minimum estimated age of ~560 ka for the ridge-top caves, and that speleothem deposition met optimal conditions only during warmer periods, largely corresponding to interglacials. Stable carbon isotope values in speleothems range between −9.96‰ and −4.11‰, indicating the presence of plant and soil organic activity at the time of deposition. In total, five speleothem growth phases were distinguished during the last ~560 ka. We excavated the sediment infill of a ridge-top doline down to a 2-m depth. Radiocarbon dating revealed that it was deposited during the Late Holocene, and preliminary pollen analysis identified a plant assemblage dominated by grasses. Using the relationships between karst development, glaciation, and cave sedimentary archives, we present a time slice chronology of alpine landscape evolution at >560 ka, ~400 ka, ~330 ka, the Last Glacial Period (70–12 ka), and the Late Holocene. Our geomorphological, isotopic, and geochronological results also support the existing hypothesis that the South Carpathians may have experienced at least two glacial phases during the Pleistocene. Glacial erosion rate during the Last Glacial Period, and most likely during the penultimate glaciation, averages around 0.6 mm yr−1. [Display omitted] •We investigated glaciokarst morphology in the Făgăraș Mountains, Romania.•We provide the first speleothem ages of alpine caves in the South Carpathians.•The minimum estimated age of ridge-top caves is ~560 ka.•Speleothem growth was limited only to warm periods.•Sedimentary infill of dolines unravels Late Holocene environmental conditions.