Annals of Glaciology 2 1 1995
©
Intern ationa l Gl aciological Society
"Little Ice Age" glaciers in Ka:mchatka, northeastern
Russia
O . N. SOLOMI;\A,
Institute
of Geogwphy,
Russian Academ} oJ Sciences, Staronwnetny 29, M oscow 109017, Russia
Y A. D . M G RA VY E\ ',
Instilule oJ r'olcanolog:),. PelrojJavlovsk-Kamchalskiy, R ussia
L. 1. BA ZANOVA
Institute oJ Volcanic Geology and Geochemisll), Petropavlovsk-Kamchalskiy, Russia
ABSTRA CT . Li chenometry was used to d a te " Littl e I ce Age" mora in es in th e
K a mcha tka peninsul a, north eas tern Ru ssia. Th e Rhi;:,ocmjJon geograjJ/zicwn gro wth-ra te
cur\'(" was based on seven d a ta points fro m la \'a Omvs a nd mo ra in es, d a ted usin g
hisro ri ca l reco rds or te phrochronology ( 15- 300 BP) . No redu ction in growth rate du e to
d ec reas in g lich en age was obse lyed , so a lin ea r a pproxima ti on was used. Acc uracy tes t
res ults yield diffe rences between real a nd ca lcul a ted d a tes up to , bu t not exceeding, fi ve
yea rs. From eight " Littlc Ice Age" (LIA ) mora in es it was es ta bli shed th a t K a mcha tk a
glac iers ad\'anced in th e 16905, 1850- 70 and 19 10- 20. Onl y one morain e cl ea rl y
correspond ed to th e 1690s ad va nce. Th e maximum stage of th e LIA was during th e
mid- to late 19th centur y when glac ier fronts we re ge nera ll y 100- 200 m lower th a n a t
p rese nt. G lacier te rmini with as h and mora ine laye rs, cO\'e red by li chens a nd vasc ul a r
pla nts, have been prese rved [or 150 300 yea rs, judgin g by th e li chen sizes .
INTRODUCTION
Th e rece nt g lacier hi sto ry o[ K a m chat ka, north eas tern
Russia , is poorl y il1\·es ti ga ted. Th e first d a ta co nce rnin g
glacier- fro nt positi ons d a te fro m th e 1920s. ~vl o r a in e d a tes
from radi oca rbon a nd tree-rin gs, etc., a re still lac king.
U ntil rece ntl y, th e " Little Ice Age" (LIA ) in K a mcha tk a
\\'as co nsid ered onl y as th e fin a l stage of Ho loce ne
g lac iat io n. Th en Bra itse\'a a nd o th e rs ( 1968 ) a nd
~l e l e k es t se \ ' a nd o th ers (19 70) id entifi ed severa l units of
\'a ri o us ages assoc ia ted wi th glacial ac ti\'ity: traces of la tePl eistoce ne glac ia ti o n (",20 ka ), mo ra in es nea r th e ex it of'
tro ug h \·a ll eys (pres um a bl y of la te-glacia l age, ", ]410 ka ) a nd t\l'O stages of th e H oloce ne. Th e H oloce ne
maximum was ro ug hl y 2000 BP. A second compl ex o[
H o loce ne mora in es includ es ones with un sta ble surfaces
a nd ice-fill ed co res, fr equ entl y bord ering th e fro nts of'
recent glaciers.
Sredinn y a nd Eastern rid ges, a nd ex tend sub-m eridi ona ll y thro ughout nea rl y th e entire p eninsul a . Studi es were
carri ed out on volca noes of th e Kl yuche\'skaya gro ups.
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REGION
Th e K a mcha tk a peninsul a ( Fi g. I) contain s 29 ac ti ve a nd
more tha n 300 extin ct \'o lca noes (pa rt of the P acifi c
" Ring o f Fire" ) a nd is th e la rges t glacia ted regio n in
north east Asia , with 446 glac iers occ up ying a n a rea of
more th a n 906 km 2 Th e main nod es a re th e hi ghes t
240
Fig . 1. T he area oJ in vestiga tion .
Solomilla alld others: .. Liute i re Age" glaciers in Kamc/wtka
METHODS
Lichenotnetry
Fi eld studi es in 1992 /93 showed th a t th e crustose li che n
Rhi:::ocarpoll geograjJ/zicu11l (se nsu lato ) co uld be used as a n
age indi cato r, It occ urs wid ely on yo un g d ep osits of
differin g ge nesis, includin g g lac ia l a nd vo lca nic r oc ks,
i\I aximum di a m ete rs of a ll th e la rges t li c hens \\'e re
m eas ured o n m o r a in e an d la \'a -fl ow s ur faces, F o r
e llipti ca l li c he ns, th e m aj o r a nd min o r axes \\'e r e
m eas ured , a nd th e a rithm e ti ca l m ea ns ca lcul a ted , If th e
\'a ri a nce fo r a su b-se t of th e fi ve m aximum dim ensions did
not exceed a fe\\' millim e tres, th e g rea tes t di a m e te r \\'as
ta ken as th e surface-age ind ex , If th e m ax imum di a m e te r
was sig nificantl y greater th a n th e other fo ur m eas urem e nts of th e sub-se t, it was elimin a ted a nd th e six th
larges t li chen was a dd ed to th e sub-se t. T o m a ke rou g h
es tim a tes o f li c he n- g ro \\'th ra te, la \'a OO\o" s o f kn ovv n age
(Fi g, 2 ) were ex pl o red: Pl os k y T o lbac hik ( 194 1) .
Yubil ein y ( 1945 ), A p a kh o nc hi c h ( 1946 ), V ern a d sky
(Kl y uc hevs kaya vo lc a no ) ( 1956 ) a nd th e K oze lsky
g lac ie r m o ra in e ( 19 76 ) , Sin ce n o li c he ns h a \'e ye t
ap pea red o n the yo ung K ozelsky glacie r m orain e, th e
li chen meas urem en ts o n th e la\'a Oo\\'s a lo ne liT re used .
Beca use di a m e te rs o f 8- 13 mm we re a tta in ed b y li che ns
o n th e la va Oows o f th e 1940s to I 950s, th e a pproxim a te
ra te o f RhizocarjJon geograjJhicu/7l g rowth a t its fi rst stage o f
d e\'elo pm ent is es tim a ted as 0,25 mm a I .
sho \\" th a t it re trea ted ri'om th e la te 19+0s to th e eaI' ll'
196 05. th e n se tt led in to a stead\" sta te, ach' a nced ['ro m
197 1 to 1976, a nd th en rc turn ed to a stea d \' sta te
(\ ' in ogra d O\' a nd :\ f ura\')'C\'. 1992 ).
Th e first m o ra in e (Fi g, 3; .\J o , I ). bord erin g th e g lac ier
te rm.inus. fo rm ed as a res ult of g lacier di sp lace m e nt in th e
19 70s , :-Vf o rph o logica ll y it is a se ri es o f ice clifTs a nd rid ges
co\'ered \\' ith a thin c ind er laye r a lso co nt a ining la rge
bo uld ers, It g rad es into th e stag na n t icc surface fo r med
since th e g lac ier's re t reat ri'om 19+0 to 1960 (Fig , 3: .\J o,
2, H e re. th e fi rst pat te rn s of li ch e ns (Rhi::.oca1"jJoII
geograjJ/ZiwlI/ ) liT re fo un d, the m ax imul11 di a m ete r or
indi\'idu a l li chens bein g 8111 m . A new "r un g" begin s
50 m lo \\'e r a lo ng t he c hute, w he re 111 0 re coarse. fragme nted m ateria l is see n a nd so m e \'asc ul a r pl ants a ppear.
Thi s m o ra in e ra mpa rt is be tter-d efin cd . ha \'in g m ore
di stin c t o utlin es a nd a stce p o ute r slo pe, a nd IS clea rll'
ex pressed in aeria l ph otogra ph s (Fig , 3: No. 3 ) ,
D, mm
1==.,.1
11
o
so
100 1 SO 200 250 300 350 400
Years,
BP
(;I
A
8
-.:-_9I}Q~
~CD
....
"
c
0
Fig , 2, The growlh curve oj Rhi zoca rp o n geogra phicum (sensll lato )jor the Kamchalka moulllaills (see tell ).
T ephrochronology
As a res ult o f te ph rochron ological studi es b y th e Insti tu te
o f' \ ' o lca ni c G eology a nd G eoch emistr y, P e tro pa"' os kK a m cha tski y, a ge nera li zed so il- p vroclas ti c sec ti o n was
co nstru c ted (o r the A vac hinsky vo lca no , P yroc las tic laye rs
associa ted with its erup tio ns in 1945, 1855 . 1779 a nd 1737
we re d etec ted in t he upper pa rt ( ~l e l e k cs t se\' a nd o th ers.
1993 ). Indi \' idu a l m o ra in es fro m th e stra ti g ra phi c seque n ce we re co rrela ted wi th t h ese te ph ra ho ri zo ns.
Sec ti o ns of th e o\'e rl a pping so il- p yrocl astic seq uence a t
th e surface of mo ra in es ,,'ere studi ed an d then co m pa red
to th e ge n era li zed sec ti o ns.
RESULTS
Kozelsky glacier, Avachins k y group
Direc t o bse n 'a ti o ns of th e d yn a mi cs of K oz clsky g lac ie r
Fig. 3, .IJ omille com/!Ie\ of k o::.elsk), glacier, A . T OllgUI'
cif gLacier; B , 'opogmj)/~)' COlltOU/'J ill Ill: C. moraines of
diJlerenl ages ( 1111lllbm njJlail1ed ill t/ie tnl ) : D . limil5
of moraille romjJ!n : E. sile oj meleorological obsermliol/J,
Below, at a bo u t 820 m , li es a ne\\' be lt o f mo ra ines
co ntai ning t\\'O di stin c t ram pa rts Fi g , 3: ;\ os. + and 5 ).
c hi e Oy co mposed of la rge frag m ents or g rey a ndes ites
produ ced b y th e K oze lsky \'o lc a no. Th e size o f th e li c hens
a nd ro ug h assess m en ts of t he g ro\\' th ra te (0.25 mm a I )
sugges t th a t th ese m o ra in es for m ed in th e 19 th ce ntur y,
Thi s is corrobora ted by th e so il- p\Toclas ti c sequence o n
the old er o u ter mor ain c ram pa n (Fig , 3; :"Jo, 6 ) , A 50 cm
thi c k sequ e nce t h a t con ta in s t\\'O te phra laye rs is
2+ 1
S%mina al/d a/hers: ., LilLle Ice Age" glaciers i11 Kamc/w/ka
associa ted wi th th e 1945 A vac hinsky eru pti on a nd th e
1907 K sud ac h erupti on (Fi g. 4a ) . Th e lower ash laye r is
und erla in by a thin layer of ta lus d e posits w hi ch o\"e rli es
th e mo ra in e. T e phra from th e 1855 Avachinsky eru p ti on
was no t o bse rved h ere, so the mo ra ine mu st have fo rm ed
betwee n 1855 a nd 1907.
a
b
a
till
D
fin e-grain ash
~ dark ash with gray sinler
~ sandy loam
1-:-:-:1acolian
la
sand
sod
Fig. -+. Soil /ijroclaslic sequence on moraines of Ko.celsky
glacier. ( a) moraine of the second half Ilf /he 19th centwy :
( b) moraine of the end of the 17th Cell/ ZlI]I. A V, ash from
Avachinsk)l eruptio11s (1945. 1855, 1779 and 1737); KS,
aslzJrom KSlldach eruption ( /907).
On th e o utside, a co mplex o f yo ung, un sodd ed
mo ra in es (Fi g . 3; N os. 1- 6) li es adj ace nt to th e o ld er,
sodd ed mo ra in e which is cove red with elfin-wood ced a r
(Fi g . 3; :\0. 7) . This mo rain e has smoo th outlin es an d th e
rid ge itse lf a ppar entl y lac ks a n ice co re; the base of th e
mor ain e li es a t 7 15 m . Th e morph ologica l dilference
betwee n these two generat ions of mora ines is so g reat th a t
d espite th eir close prox imity the co rresponding stages of
g lacier ad va nce wo uld norma lly be ex pec ted to be
sep a ra ted b y a signifi cant tim e interval. Yet, li ch enometric a nd teph roc hro no logical studi es of th e old er,
sodd ed mo ra in e (Fig . 3; No . 7) imply quite a different
interpreta ti on . From th e obse rved ma ximum li ch en
di a m eter of onl y 76 mm , a nd usin g a li ch en growth ra te
of 0.25 mm a I, th e age of th e mo ra in e is ro ug hl y
300 yea rs, i. e . wi thin th e LIA. A so il- p y roclasti c
sequ ence on it is a bo u t 60 cm thi ck a nd co ntain s fi ve
p yrocl as ti c laye rs (Fi g . 4 b ) from to p to bo ttom as foll ows:
cind er la pilli from th e 1945 Avachinsky erupti on; a laye r
of transiti on as h from th e 1907 K sud ac h erupti on; a nd
tephra from th e A vac hinsky erupti ons of 1855, 1779 a nd
1737. Th e oth er, o ld er as h laye rs a re mi ssing . Thus, th e
mo ra in e p red a tes 1737 a nd is a t leas t 255 yea rs old . Th e
lower p yroclas ti c laye r is und erl ain by a 12 cm laye r of
sand y loam which g rad es into th e morain e d eposits,
indi ca tin g th a t th e mora ine was form ed a few d ecad es
earli er th an th e upper age limi t ( 1737 ) . Th e lowe r age
limit is 320- 340 BP , as d etermin ed b y radioca rbon d atin g
(G eological Institute, M osco w, sampl e 6983 ) . Thi s va lu e
was ob ta in ed on th e upper p a rt of th e buri ed so il laye r
( 16cm thi ck) und erl ying th e te phra of 17 37 . Thus, two
additi ona l points used as tim e m arkers were obtain ed for
co nstru c tin g th e li ch en-gro wth cur ve (Fig . 2) . Th e
rela ti onship be tw ee n substra tum age a nd m ax imum
li chen di a meter is nearly lin ea r, a nd may be d esc ribed
by th e equ a ti on, y = 5.5 + 3.8x, w here y is th e age of th e
surface (years BP), a nd x is th e m ax imum li chen di a meter
(mm ) . This curve was th e basis for d a ting th e mo rall1es
form ed b y oth er g lac iers in th e region.
Nov o g r ablenov gl acie r, Avachinsk y g roup
Novog ra blenov is a surging g lac ier with a north wes tern
ori enta ti o n, a nd termin a tes a t 850 m . Mu ch of th e snout ,
broken up by crevasses into indi vidu a l blocks, is covered
with a cind er laye r. No te rmin a l mo ra in es occ ur below
th e to ng ue. Th e la tera l mo ra in es a ppea r as a long
ra mp a rt a pprox im ate ly 15 m hi g h a ncl 20 m wid e
extending a long th e left fl a nk , a nd as two ra mp a rts of
so mew ha t poorer preserva ti on a long th e ri g ht fl a nk . Th e
left late ra l m ora ine (Fi g. Sa; No . 1) form ed simulta -
a
p-r A (j) B
~E
~~ c
3V D
WF I:ft; G
Fig. 5. Scheme showing the dated moraines of some glaciers at Avachinsky volcano: (a) No vograblenov, ( b)
Lavinshchikov, (e) Elizovsky a11d ( d) Kambaln)1glaciers. A, moraine ramparts; B, points oJ lichenometric studies; C,
cliffs ( i) and cres/s ( ii) ; D , glaciers; E, nunataks; F, rocks; G, "dead ice" .
242
Solomil/a and others: (. Lillle Ice Age" glaciers in Kal7lchalka
neo usly with th e eng lacia l morain e on th e ri g ht (Fig . 5a;
No. 2), after a n ach-a nce a t th e beginnin g of th e 20th
century. Th e old er mora in e ra mp a rt pro ba bl y d a tes fr om
th e second ha lf of th e 19 th century . N m 'ogra bl e no \'
glacie r is la rge r no w th a n a t th e beginning of th e 20th
ce ntury, sin ce th e left la tera l mora in e is o\'e rl a pped by th e
m od ern terminu s of th e glac ier. N o li chens were fo und o n
this m o ra ine.
Lavinshchikov glacier, Avachinsky group
L avinsh chikov is a small foo t g lac ie r in th e Eli zovs kaya
river \·a ll ey. I t is segrega ted in to two near-slo pe glac ie rs,
whi ch were united in Au g ust 1993 by a drifting snowpac k
th a t d escend ed to th e term in a l morain e, outlining th e
conto urs of th e g lacier during th e LI A. Th e uppe r
m o ra in e has no li c hens, but li ch ens up to 23 mm in
di a m e ter occ ur o n th e lower mo ra in e. Th e m o ra ines o n
th e left fl a nk a re presen 'ed as se\'e ra l ra mp a rts a few te ns
of m e tres lo ng, with pointed rid ges a nd steep slo pes . Th e
ages of three o f th em we re es tim a ted a t ro ug hl y 50, 70 a nd
120 yea rs (Fi g . 5b; N os . I , 2 a nd 3, res pec ti ve ly) . T wo
fr agm e nts of mo ra in es (Fi g. 5 b; N os . 4 a nd 5 ) have bee n
id entifi ed o n th e ri ght na nk nea r th e glac ie r fro nt. Th eir
ages corres po nd to those of m o rain es 2 a nd 3 (Fig . 5b ),
a nd th ey a re be tter prese n 'ed , but li chens fo und he re
show th eir stages o[ad\'ance to be so m ew ha t old er, a bo ut
75 a nd 140 yea rs, res pec ti ve ly.
Elizovsk y glacier, Avachins k y g roup
Eli zovsky is a cirq ue glac ie r of so uthwes t orie nta ti o n ,
termin a ting a t abo ut 1300 m. It d escend s in th e fo rm of
three " rungs" in to a na rrow \·all ey . Th e onl y d a ta bl e
fea ture is th e la tera l m o ra in es, whi ch gi\'e a n a pprox im a te
upp er age limit (Fi g . 5c ) . Three o r fo ur " run gs" oClatera l
m o ra in es were id e ntified , but th ey a re inte rrupted by
erod ed a reas, a nd cann o t be traced a lo ng th e entire
to nO" ue. Th e lower m o rain e ra mpa rt , nea res t th e ice fro nt,
h as no li ch en g row th and pro ba bl y fo rm ed rece ntl y. Th e
seco nd ge nera ti o n (Fig . 5c; N os. 2 a nd 4 ), w hi ch left
traces o n bo th sid es of th e \'all ey, fo rm ed a t leas t 50 yea rs
ago, but is proba bl y old e r, give n th e sizes of th e two
la rges t lic hens ( 19 a nd 17 mm ). Th e hig her level of
m a rgin al m o ra in es (Fi g . 5c; Nos . I a nd 3), d edu ced fr om
th e size of li chens, is a ttributed to ac ti vity in th e mid- to
la te 19 th ce ntur y.
KaInbalny glacier, Av achins k y group
K a mbaln y glacier termin a tes a t 1180 m, nea r a n ex posure of
roc k on th e ri ght na nk of th e chute. Co mpa ri so n with 1974
ae ri a l ph o tographs shows tha t ove r th e las t 20 yea rs it has
ad\'a nced a bo ut 250 m, correspo nding to a drop of 100 m .
Its fro nt, a steep lobe of pure, till-free ice, sugges ts th a t th e
glacier was ad va ncing in 1993 . A sma ll , ro ug hl y 10 m long,
fresh mora in e ra m part was see n und er the ice nea r th e !eft
sid e. No oth er mora in es were fo und near its fron t.
A cliff pro m o n to ry (Fig . 5d ; No . I ) nea r th e terminu s
h as a fres h surface with traces of g lacie r polishing a nd
scouring . N o li ch ens were fo und on th e lo wer pa rt of th e
cliff, but 15- 20 m a bove th e chute 000 1' Rhizoca rjJoll
geograjJ/Z icllm of 25- 27 mm di a m e ter was o bserved. A low
terrace (up to 3- 5 m ), erod ed in som e pl aces by slo pe
was h. bo rd ers th e cliff (Fig . 5d ; N o . 2) . It li es direc tl y
adjacent to ta lus d eposits, whi c h proba bl y suppl y p a rt of
th e terrace's surface m a te ri al. Th e size of li chens indi ca tes
th a t th e te rrace fo rm ed in th e mid- 20th cen t ur y, but th e
la ndfo rm is pa rti a ll y rejuve na ted by fragm e nts from th e
slo pe, compli ca ting th e age d e termin a tion. Thi s terrace
fo rm a ti o n is link ed to glac ier re trea t from a previ o us
10 \\'er pos ition , a suppo rted by th e ha lf-erod ed moraine
lin e (Fi g . 5d ; No . 3) surrounding it. Th e age of th ese
m ora in es is a bo ut 140 yea rs. No consistent m o rain e lin e
was fo und on th e left sid e of th e vall ey, but subtle traces of
sedim ent-acc umula ti o n fea tures exist a t a bo ut th e sa m e
b 'e!'
Th e o th er three g lac ie rs studi ed lac k a ny such m o ra in e
co mpl exes fr o m whi c h a g lac ia l hi stor y co uld b e
reco nstru c ted.
ChereInonshny glacier, Klyuchevskaya g roup
:-lo ra in e-like fea ture, m os t of them a ppa re ntl y crea ted
by volcani c ac ti\'ity, were di sco vered near C herem o nshn y
glac ie r. Onl y o ne m o ra in e ('"'-'5 0 years old ) co uld be d a ted
by li che nom e try, but thi s d a te is unreli a bl e beca use of th e
lac k of li chens.
Popkov glacier, Klyuchevs kay a group
Th e Po pko \' g lacier a rea (Bolshaya Zimin a vo lca no) is
co\'erecl by la \'a no Vls of different ages, so traces of g lacial
aCli\'ity a re pa rti all y o bsc ured. H owever , li c he ns a re
a bund a nt o n th e la rge bo uld ers th a t comprise pa rt of th e
mi xed m o rain e d e bris, volca ni c as h a nd rece ntl y fo rm ed
soil cO\'e rin g t he surface of th e sno ut. A lso, th e m ax imum
li c hen size o n th e fr o nt is nearl y con sistent with th a t o n
th e old es t m o ra in e of K ozelsky g lacie r. Thi s sugges ts th a t
th e m aximum ad\'a nce of Po pkov g lac ie r a lso occ urred in
th e 17th centur y, but th a t its m a rg ins have not changed
sin ce. Pro ba bl y, th e surface gradu a ll y lowered durin g th e
last three centuri es, a nd th e englac ia l till m elted o ut,
buildin g thicker mo ra in e cove r a t th e terminus.
ErInan gla cier, Klyuchevs kay a group
A simil a r pi cture is evid e nt fr om Erm a n g lacie r, th e
la rges t in K a m c ha tka . In spite o rits unusua l ac ti\'ity, viz.
ach"a n ce during th e pas t 50 yea rs, la rge m as es of " d ead
ice" exist a long its m a rgin s a nd a re presentl y stati o na ry.
Prelimin a ry d a ta show th a t th e m ax imum di a m e te r of
li che ns o n th e " d ead ice", is 35 mm. A tephra laye r fr om
th e 1854 Shivelu ch volcani c eruptio n (Belo usov, 1985 )
\vas d e tec ted in a 60 c m thi ck laye r of supraglacia l
m o rain e o\'e rl yin g th e "dead ice" so th e age of th e
" passive-i ce" surface is nea r th e mid-1 9 th ce ntury .
Kronots k y glacier , Kronotsk y v olcano
An a n a logo us prese n 'ation o f sup e rfi cia l cove r on
Krono tsky glac ier m o ra in es was repo rted by T siurup a
( 1988 ). Th e g lac ier lobe, 100 111 fr om th e fro n t, is cove red
by \'o lca ni c cind e r suppo rtin g abundant vege tation:
Oritropis sp., T'accillum lILiginosum L. . Oxiris digina ( L. )
Hill., Saxifraga pllrpllrasoe/ls Kom . a nd two sp ecies of dwa rf
243
S%mina and others: " Lillle l ee Age" glaciers in Kamelza/ka
willow, Salir ovaLiJolia T raulv. a nd S. bnberiJolia (I) Pall.
ss/J . Kameha/ica A. Skvor/ . Th e age of one o f th e sp ec ies of
Salix ovaliJolia Trau/v. was es tim a ted a t 15 1 BP.
DISCUSSION
Th e prin cipa l questio n from thi s stud y is th e reli a bility o[
th e li chen-growth CLII'\'e and limita ti ons on its sp a ti a l and
tempora l a ppli cati on . T ephroc hronology can ve rify th e
li chen growth-ra te a sessm en ts . I n two cases, th e res ults
a re in good agreement. First, on Erm a n glacier, as
re ported a bove, th e age o[ th e " p assive-ice" surface is
139 yea rs ( 1853 ) acco rd i ng to li chenom etry a nd 138 yea rs
( 1854 ) acco rdin g to th e te phroc hro nological d a ta . In th e
seco nd case, o n th c surracc o r a lava now in th e
Kh a laktryka dry ri ve r \'alley, Z a va rilsky ( 1977 ) sho wed
th a t this fl ow form ed in 1827. Li chen ometry co rro bora ted
hi s spec ula ti on, th e age from li chen sizes being d etermin ed as a bout 169yea rs ( 1823 ). Th e error in bo th cases
is no more than a few yea rs.
Pl a usible res ults have bee n obta in ed fo r th e d a ting of
mo rain es. M orain es of th e glaciers studi ed ar e g ro uped
accordin g to age : yo ung, low a nd indistin ct morain es (3659 BP) ; a distin ct a nd well-sha ped /d efin ed ge nera ti on of
mo ra in es (70- 79 BP) ; a nd on e or two o ld er, non-drained
outer mora in es (120 146BP ). Based on th e reco nst ru cted
mass-b ala nce hi stor y of K oze lsky glacier (Vin ogrado v
a nd Mura \'yev, 1992 ), th e glacier must have und ergone
co nsid er a bl e mass acc retion ( + 1060 mm w. e.) during
1955 /56 , a d a te whi ch coin cid es with th e age o[ its newes t
morain e ( 1956, fr om a li chen size of 8 mm ). Th e seco nd
(earli er) genera tion of mora in es co uld be associa ted with
th e period of posi ti ve g lacier mass bala nce in j 9 10- 20
( + 1680 mm w.e. a I). This ma s-bal a nce pea k probabl y
coin cid es with th e 19 12 K a tm a i eruption in Alaska , whi ch
was foll owed by a lowe ring of th e a tm osph ere tra nsp a rency coe ffi cient b y a fac tor of 1.4 over P etrop a\'l ovskK a mch a tski y. A fa ll in tempera ture a nd g lacier ad va nce
in th e No rth ern H emi sph ere in th a t yea r m ay be
co nn ec ted with th a t eruption. Th e glac iers of K a mchatka a ppa rentl y ad va nced from 19 18 to 192 0 as well , as
co rrobora ted by th e reconstru ction of mass ba la nce by
Vi nograd ov a nd ?vI u ra \'yev ( 199 2) . Th e thi I'd prev ious
ge nera ti on o f morain es, form ed in th e mid-19th ce ntury
(according to lich enom etri c d a tin g ), coin cid es with th e
wid ely recognized Lt glacier ad va n ce.
CONCLUSIONS
I . Lich enometry ca n be used to d a te rece nt mo ra in es in
K a mcha tk a .
2. K a mcha tka glaciers repea tedl y ad va nced durin g the
244
LIA. Th e pea k was a t th e end o[ th e 17th centur y
(ap prox ima te ly 1690), but mo ra in es o f thi s p eri od
h ave not b ee n prese rved on m a n y K a m ch a tk a
volca noes. Th e first ge n era ti on o f m ora in es with
reli a bl e ages usua ll y fo rm ed in th e mid - 19th ce n tur y.
Th e yo un ge r, sm a ll-scal e a d va n ce of g laciers in
K a mcha tka is d a ted a t 1910- 20. Small -sized morain es of th e mid- 20th ce ntur y a re preser ved near mos t
presenr-d ay g laciers. All th e id entiu ed glacier advan ces occ urred a t or nea r th e tim e of well-kn own
stages of hig h g lac ia l acti\'ity in o th er mo untain
regio ns of th e North ern H emisph ere (GrO\'e, 1988) .
3. V erti ca l mag nitudes of glacier retreat ( 100- 200m )
indi ca ted by mora in es d e posited during th e pea k
ph ase o r th e LIA a re simil a r to th ose in oth er
mounta in reg ions with a ma ritim e clim a te (e.g . th e
Alps a nd th e Ca ucas us) . Howe\'er, som e g laciers in
K a mcha tk a have ad va nced since th en. oft en to the
limits of or e\'en beyo nd LIA mora in es .
4. Oth er importa nt fea tures of glacia ti on in K a mchatk a
incl ud e termini of glaciers cO\'ered wi th morain es a nd
volca ni c ma teri a l, a nd " d ead -ice" masses . Th ese a re
th e sa me age as certa in mora in es fr om th e 17th a nd
18th ce nturi es .
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Finan cia l support [o r thi s work was provid ed b y th e
Ru ssia n Fund a mental Science Found a tion (proj ec t 93 05-8356 ) . W e wish to ex press our a pprecia tion to V. Vu.
Kiri an ov a nd O . S. Sa voskul for their prac tica l assista nce
in our fi eld studi es a nd to K. H end erso n, W . H ae berli and
a n a non ym ous rev iewer [or th eir criti ca l comm ents.
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