Glacial and karst relief of Mount Patyn massif (Mountain Shoria)

Abstract

The influence of glaciers on karst processes is an interesting issue of geomorphology, which is relevant both for areas where modern glaciation develops on karst rocks, and for karst areas that were glaciated during the Neopleistocene cooling period. In foreign literature, detailed monographs are devoted to heterogeneous landforms, combining karst topography and inherited glacial morphogenesis, while in Russian geomorphology this issue is not considered broadly enough and very superficially. The purpose of this study is to analyze the morphology, morphometry and spatial distribution of glacial, nival and karst relief in the Patyn karst subregion (Gornaya Shoria mountains), and to assess the prospects of this area for studying the forms and conditions of glaciokarst formation. In the summer of 2017, in the Kultaiginsky karst area in the Patyn mountain massif, route geomorphological studies were carried out, including the study of the surface and natural karst voids. It was revealed that the еxaration relief is developed on all slopes of the massif. It is represented by complex stepped (corrie-valleys) of the first and second types according to the L.N. Ivanovsky classification. On the southern slope of the massif a moraine relief complex of at least two stages of glaciation, is described. Low thickness of the overlapping loess makes it possible to establish the relative age of moraines no later than the Last Glacial Maximum (the Sartan time). The moraine relief traces advancement of glaciers to the absolute heights of 1000m. A number of facts have been provided that indirectly indicate possible advancement of ancient glaciers to the absolute heights of 650–550m. Karst relief of the Patyn mountain outlines the ancient glacial relief and is represented by numerous erosion-corrosion, collapse and suffusion karst sinkholes, ponors and caves with either large modern underground watercourses with a flow rate of up to 1 m³/sec and more, or fragments of the ancient paleokarst galleries currently devoid of hydrological functioning. As a result of the research, it was proved that the Fantazia and Kyzasskaya caves are parts of the same deep underground hydrosystem (probably the deepest in Siberia), with an amplitude of hypsometric levels over 450m. The studies carried out revealed the fact of the close geographical proximity of the karst and glacial relief in the massif of Patyn. During the degradation of glaciers in the Late Ice Age, the released volume of fresh water had a direct impact on the formation of individual groups of large surface forms and underground karst voids. The results obtained showed that the Patyn massif is a promising area for studying the issues of glaciokarst and paleogeography of the Pleistocene, using the methods of both glacial geomorphology and karst studies.