the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.
Onset of intense permafrost conditions in Northern Eurasia at ~2.55 Ma seen in a cryogenic weathering record from Lake El'gygytgyn
G. Schwamborn
L. Schirrmeister
B. Diekmann
Abstract. Physical weathering in permafrost landscapes contrasts to mid- and low latitude physical weathering in the way that quartz is less stable in freeze–thaw (F/T) cycles and breaks down to silt sized grains. F/T weathering also produces a distinct single quartz grain micromorphology such as microcracks and brittle textures of the surface. Both of these sediment-mineralogical features have been used for identifying intense permafrost conditions (i.e. intense F/T dynamics) around Lake El'gygytgyn in NE Eurasia using a Pliocene–Pleistocene sediment record from the centre of the lake. This lake provides the longest terrestrial palaeoenvironmental archive in the Arctic and has been a sediment trap for 3.6 Ma. Detritic material marked by F/T weathering becomes distinctive ~2.55 Ma ago and has been accumulating since then in the lake basin. This time marker coincides with the establishment of a perennial lake ice cover and corresponds with pollen assemblages indicating a significant cooling during that time. It matches fairly well the timing of the Plio-/Pleistocene cooling known from other marine and terrestrial evidence.
The onset of intense quartz weathering is regarded as a first order age assessment for the beginning of persistent Quaternary permafrost conditions and which deepened into the ground since then in settings of high continentality in the non-glaciated NE Eurasian Arctic.
This preprint has been withdrawn.
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This preprint has been withdrawn.
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Preprint
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G. Schwamborn et al.
Interactive discussion


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RC C3162: '„Onset of intense permafrost conditions on Northern Eurasia at ~ 2.55 Ma seen in a cryogenic weathering record from Lake El´gygytgyn“ by G. Schwamborn et al.', Anonymous Referee #1, 19 Jan 2014
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RC C3253: 'Review of: Onset of intense permafrost conditions in Northern Eurasia at 2.55 Ma seen in a cryogenic weathering record from Lake El’gygytgyn', Anonymous Referee #2, 27 Jan 2014
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EC C3285: 'Editor comment', Bernd Wagner, 29 Jan 2014
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AC C3503: 'final author comments', Georg Schwamborn, 24 Feb 2014
Interactive discussion


-
RC C3162: '„Onset of intense permafrost conditions on Northern Eurasia at ~ 2.55 Ma seen in a cryogenic weathering record from Lake El´gygytgyn“ by G. Schwamborn et al.', Anonymous Referee #1, 19 Jan 2014
-
RC C3253: 'Review of: Onset of intense permafrost conditions in Northern Eurasia at 2.55 Ma seen in a cryogenic weathering record from Lake El’gygytgyn', Anonymous Referee #2, 27 Jan 2014
-
EC C3285: 'Editor comment', Bernd Wagner, 29 Jan 2014
-
AC C3503: 'final author comments', Georg Schwamborn, 24 Feb 2014
G. Schwamborn et al.
G. Schwamborn et al.
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