Permafrost occurrence during the Last Permafrost Maximum in the Western Carpathian Mountains of Slovakia as inferred from cryogenic cave carbonate
Coarse crystalline cryogenic cave carbonate ( CCC ) forms during the slow freezing of standing water pools and represents indirect proof of freezing temperature in the past. The dating by U ‐series of CCC deposits from nine caves in the W estern C arpathians M ountains of S lovakia suggests that fre...
| Published in: | Boreas |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Wiley
2013
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/bor.12042 https://api.wiley.com/onlinelibrary/tdm/v1/articles/10.1111%2Fbor.12042 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bor.12042 |
| Summary: | Coarse crystalline cryogenic cave carbonate ( CCC ) forms during the slow freezing of standing water pools and represents indirect proof of freezing temperature in the past. The dating by U ‐series of CCC deposits from nine caves in the W estern C arpathians M ountains of S lovakia suggests that freezing conditions, and possible permafrost conditions, occurred during the Last Permafrost Maximum ( LPM , c . 20–18 ka BP ). The CCC deposits occur in caves at elevations of between 800 and 1800 m a.s.l. They point to widespread alpine permafrost, the lower limit of discontinuous/sporadic permafrost being approximately 800 m a.s.l. The thickness of permafrost probably varied between 30 and 180 m. In the Vysoké Tatry Mountains at altitudes of ∼1800 m a.s.l., one occurrence of CCC suggests that subzero temperatures may have penetrated to a depth of over 285 m. |
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