TY - JOUR

T1 - Huge Ice-age lakes in Russia

AU - Mangerud, Jan

AU - Astakhov, Valery

AU - Jakobsson, Martin

AU - Svendsen, John Inge

PY - 2001/12/1

Y1 - 2001/12/1

N2 - During an early phase of the Last Ice Age (Weichselian, Valdaian), about 90 000 yr ago, an ice sheet formed over the shallow Barents and Kara seas. The ice front advanced on to mainland Russia and blocked the north-flowing rivers (Yenissei, Ob, Pechora, Dvina and others) that supply most of the freshwater to the Arctic Ocean. The result was that large ice-dammed lakes were formed between the ice sheet in the north and the continental water divides to the south. Here we present reconstructions and calculations of the areas and volumes of these lakes. The lake on the West Siberian Plain was nearly twice as large as the largest lake on Earth today. The well-mapped Lake Komi in northeast Europe and a postulated lake in the White Sea Basin would also rank before the present-day third largest lake. The lakes overflowed towards the south and thus the drainage of much of the Eurasian continent was reversed. The result was a major change in the water balance on the continent, decreased freshwater supply to the Arctic Ocean, and increased freshwater flow to the Aral, Caspian, Black and Baltic seas. A sudden outburst of the lakes' water to the Arctic Ocean when the ice sheet thinned is postulated.

AB - During an early phase of the Last Ice Age (Weichselian, Valdaian), about 90 000 yr ago, an ice sheet formed over the shallow Barents and Kara seas. The ice front advanced on to mainland Russia and blocked the north-flowing rivers (Yenissei, Ob, Pechora, Dvina and others) that supply most of the freshwater to the Arctic Ocean. The result was that large ice-dammed lakes were formed between the ice sheet in the north and the continental water divides to the south. Here we present reconstructions and calculations of the areas and volumes of these lakes. The lake on the West Siberian Plain was nearly twice as large as the largest lake on Earth today. The well-mapped Lake Komi in northeast Europe and a postulated lake in the White Sea Basin would also rank before the present-day third largest lake. The lakes overflowed towards the south and thus the drainage of much of the Eurasian continent was reversed. The result was a major change in the water balance on the continent, decreased freshwater supply to the Arctic Ocean, and increased freshwater flow to the Aral, Caspian, Black and Baltic seas. A sudden outburst of the lakes' water to the Arctic Ocean when the ice sheet thinned is postulated.

KW - Arctic Ocean

KW - Barents ice sheet

KW - Caspian Sea

KW - Early Weichselian

KW - Ice-dammed lakes

KW - Kara ice sheet

KW - Northern Russia

KW - Siberia

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0035669422&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/jqs.661

DO - 10.1002/jqs.661

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:0035669422

VL - 16

SP - 773

EP - 777

JO - Journal of Quaternary Science

JF - Journal of Quaternary Science

SN - 0267-8179

IS - 8

ER -