Reconstruction of Last Glacial Maximum glaciers and palaeoclimate in the central Taurus Range, Mt. Karanfil, of the Eastern Mediterranean

Abstract

We report the first glacial chronology of Mt. Karanfil (3059 m above sea level; a.s.l.), a small mountain in the south-central Taurus Range in Turkey. Well-preserved terminal and lateral moraines are clustered in four groups; M1, M2, M3, and M4, between similar to 2000 and similar to 2400 m a.s.l., composed of limestone blocks. Each moraine group originated from one to three cirque areas (C1, C2, C3, and C4 cirques) on the mountain's northern face between 2400 and 2600 m a.s.l. The best estimated mean ages of moraines M1 (17.3 +/- 2.4 ka), M2 (18.6 +/- 1.6 ka), and M3 (20.0 +/- 2.6 ka) indicate that glaciers reached their maximum extents on the global Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), and they were persistent till the Late Glacial. The last moraine group (M4), more oriented towards the north, is dated to 14.6 +/- 2.4 ka, implying that the M4 glacier lasted a few thousand years more. Also, a relict rock glacier in the Cl cirque floor was dated to 9.9 +/- 0.9 ka and testifies to the development of permafrost conditions at the onset of Holocene. The timing of glaciation on Mt. Karanfil is close to the global LGM, as similar terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide chronologies were obtained from other mountains in the eastern Mediterranean. We also used the Parallel Ice Sheet Model (PISM) to reconstruct the glaciers and climate during the LGM on Mt. Karanfil. Twenty-one palaeoclimate simulations were run as a function of present temperature and precipitation to reach the steady-state glacier extents, and the modelled glacial areas were compared with the fieldobserved ice extents. The best-fit scenarios indicate that the LGM climate on Mt. Karanfil was 8.3 +/- 0.5 degrees C colder than today if the precipitation levels were the same as today. More humid (20% wetter) or arid (20% drier) conditions than today bring the palaeotemperature estimates to 6.9 +/- 0.4 degrees C or 10.4 +/- 0.6 degrees C lower than the present, respectively. (C) 2022 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.