Lithological and geomorphological indicators of glacial genesis in the upper Quaternary strata, Nadym River basin, Western Siberia

Abstract

Abstract. Analysing the genesis of Quaternary sediments is important for understanding the glaciation history and development of marine sediments in the northern part of Western Siberia. The problem is relevant since there is no consistent concept of the Quaternary sediment genesis in the north of Western Siberia. The formation of sediments is associated with marine, glacial and interglacial sedimentation conditions. The research objective is to identify the persistent features characterising the conditions of sedimentation and relief formation using the Nadym River basin as an example. The best method for studying this problem is a comprehensive analysis of the lithological, chronostratigraphic, petrographic and geomorphological studies of the Quaternary sediment upper strata. This study provides data from the analysis of the basic characteristics of quartz grains at the site. The rounding and morphology of the quartz grains provide evidence of possible glacial processing of some of the site strata. A petrographic study of selected boulder samples was performed. Some of them, by the shape and presence of striation, can be attributed to ice basins. The first use of a detailed digital elevation model applied to the study area made it possible to identify specific relief forms that could very likely be created during glaciations. Based on the analysis, we propose to consider the vast lake alluvial plains in the Nadym River basin as periglacial regions. This idea lays the lithological framework for understanding the reasons for the formation of the modern landscape structure. The materials and descriptions provided are of interest to researchers of Quaternary sediments, topography, vegetation and soil cover, particularly researchers engaged in revising the history of the natural environment development in the north of Western Siberia.

Micromorphological structure of maritime antarctic cryosols (King-George and Livingston Islands, West Antarctica)

“…The first feature of moraine material is angular, but not rounded forms of the particles, composed mainly of quartz, feldspars and dark colored pyroclastic particles, due to presence of periodic volcanic eruptions on the adjacent Livingston and Deception Islands. The angular form of grains in polar soils, normally indicates glacier origin of mineral material (Konishev and Rogov 1977, Konishchev and Rogov 2008, Sizov et al 2020. The very specific type of the organogenic plasma is formed in the ornithogenic and postornithogenic soils under the modern and abandoned penguin rookeries is the humus-like plasma and it represents another wide-distributed example of organomineral interaction in the different environments of Antarctica (Fig.…”

Micromorphological Characteristics of Soils in the Chernevaya Taiga (Western Siberia, Russia)

“…These methods are undeservedly underused among current soil studies. At the same time, they are very informative; for example, soil micromorphology and its key micromorphological characteristics are extremely informative for understanding the nature of pedogenesis [8], soil diversity [9,10], retrospective analyses of soil and landform evolution [11], and contemporary processes of anthropogenic soil dynamics [12][13][14]. Recently, a revision of micromorphological terms regarding their modern meaning was carried out [15].…”