The Anatolian Mountains: glacial landforms from the Last Glacial Maximum

Abstract

Almost 180 years of research revealed that the glaciers expanded in the valleys of 36 mountains in Anatolia during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM). Today, glacial landforms are found in the Eastern Black Sea Mountains, Western Taurus Mountains, Central Taurus Mountains, Eastern Taurus, Eastern Anatolian Mountains, and in Northwestern and Central Anatolia. These paleoglaciers achieved their maximum extent with a maximum length of 12 km at 20.4±1.5 ka during the LGM. Their termini were located at altitudes between 2200 and 1400 m. The LGM Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) was situated at 2000–2800 m as a result of ELA depression of 700–1600 m with respect to the modern estimates. Glaciers, with relatively smaller catchment areas, and in the order of few km, responded to the climate oscillations during and at the end of LGM such as Mount Uludağ in Northwestern Anatolia, whereas the glacial landforms in larger valleys point toward only one advance and a collapse and vanishing of the ice at the end of LGM. In addition to the valley glaciers, the Geyik Mountains in the Central Taurus Mountains hosted a 40-km2 large ice cap that was drained by up to 6-km long piedmont glaciers.