Late Quaternary glaciations and cosmogenic 36Cl geochronology of Mount Dedegöl, south‐west Turkey

• Published in: Journal of quaternary science 2019-01, Vol.34 (1), p.51-63
• Main Authors: Köse, Oğuzhan, Sarıkaya, M. Akİf, Çİner, Attİla, Candaş, Adem
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Boulders; Chronology; cosmogenic 36Cl; Geochronology; Geological time; Geomorphological mapping; Geomorphology; Glacial chronology; Glacial drift; Glaciers; Holocene; Ice accumulation; Lake Beyşehir; Last Glacial Maximum; Mapping; moraine; Moraines; Quaternary; Sea level; Taurus Mountains; Valley glaciers; Valleys; Younger Dryas
• ISSN: 0267-8179; 1099-1417
• DOI: 10.1002/jqs.3080

ABSTRACT We present details on the timing of glaciations during the late Quaternary in the western Taurus Mountain Range of Turkey. Twenty‐five boulders from prominent moraines in three northern glacial valleys of Mount Dedegöl (37.40°N, 31.17°E, 2992 m above sea level, ∼15 km west of Lake Beyşehir) were dated based on cosmogenic 36Cl surface exposure. The geomorphological mapping of the N‐NE‐trending Sayacak, Kisbe and Karagöl valleys and their in situ produced 36Cl glacial chronology revealed several glacial episodes during the late Quaternary from (pre‐Last Glacial Maximum (pre‐LGM) to early Holocene. Pre‐LGM glaciations are represented by a push‐hummocky moraine complex in the northern Sayacak Valley and dated to 29.7 ± 2.9 ka. The ages obtained from these hummocky moraines give substantial evidence regarding ice accumulation before the global LGM. In the same valley, glaciers reached their maximum positions at the LGM and deposited lateral moraines at 19.7 ± 1.6 ka. Lateglacial moraines were dated to between 16.4 ± 0.7 and 12.0 ± 1.0 ka in the nearby east‐facing Karagöl valley. The youngest glacial stages occurred during the Younger Dryas stadial (11.5 ± 0.8 ka) and early Holocene (9.8 ± 1.4 ka) in Mount Dedegöl.