The influence of the early khvalynian transgression of the caspian sea on the structure of the volga river and its tributaries valleys (maliy karaman key site, saratov region)

Cover Page

Cite item

Full Text

Open Access Open Access
Restricted Access Access granted
Restricted Access Subscription Access

Abstract

The Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea is one of the largest in the late Pleistocene. In connection with this, an extensive paleo-estuary was formed in the valley of the Volga River and its tributaries. The formation of terraces in the river valleys of the region is thus closely related to the transgressive-regressive dynamics of the Caspian Sea. This paper examines a key section of the river valley. Maliy Karaman (left tributary of the Volga River), its morphology and structure, lithological composition and age of the sediments composing the terraces, to establish the influence of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea on the structure of the valley.

Full Text

Restricted Access

About the authors

R. R. Makshaev

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography

Author for correspondence.
Email: radikm1986@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

E. Yu. Matlakhova

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography

Email: radikm1986@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

N. T. Tkach

Geological Institute of the RAS

Email: radikm1986@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

D. M. Lobacheva

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography

Email: radikm1986@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

E. I. Lysenko

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography

Email: radikm1986@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

А. А. Tkach

Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography

Email: radikm1986@mail.ru
Russian Federation, Moscow

References

  1. Badyukova E.N. (2021). Caspian Sea level fluctuations in the Neopleistocene (was there an Atelian regression?). Oceanology. Vol. 61. No. 2. P. 283–291. https://doi.org/10.31857/S0030157421010020
  2. Bezrodnykh Yu.P., Deliya S.V., Romanyuk B.F. et al. (2015). New Data on the Upper Quaternary Stratigraphy of the North Caspian Sea. Doklady Earth Sciences. Vol. 462. No. 1. P. 479–483. https://doi.org/10.7868/S0869565215130162
  3. Britsina M.I. (1954). Localization of the Khvalynian chocolate clays and some questions of paleogeography of the Northern Precaspian region. Trudy Instituta geografii AN SSSR. Vol. 62. P. 5–27. (in Russ.).
  4. Bronk Ramsey C. (2009). Bayesian analysis of radiocarbon dates. Radiocarbon. Vol. 51. Iss. 1. P. 337–360. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0033822200033865
  5. Fedorov P.V. (1957). Stratigraphy of the quaternary deposits and history of development of the Caspian Sea. Trudy Geologicheskogo instituta AN SSSR. Vol. 10. 297 p. (in Russ.).
  6. Goretsky G.I. (1966). Formirovanie doliny r. Volgi v rannem i srednem antropogene (The Formation of the Volga Valley in the Early and Middle Anthropogen). Moscow: Nauka (Publ.). 412 p. (in Russ.).
  7. Dubinskij A.Ya. (1967). Geologicheskaya karta SSSR. Seriya Srednevolzhskaya, masshtab: 1:200 000, list M-38-V. (Geological Map of the USSR, Srednevolzhskaya series at Scale1:200000, Sheet M-38-V) Leningrad: Srednevolzhskoe territorial’noe geologicheskoe upravlenie. 1 p.
  8. Kirikov V.P. (Ed.). (2017). Gosudarstvennaya geolo-gicheskaya karta Rossiiskoi Federatsii. Izdanie vtoroe. Srednevolzhskaya seriya. Karta pliotsen-chetvertichnykh obrazovanii, masshtab: 1:200 000, list N-39-XXV (Syzran’) (State Geological Map of the Russia, Vol 2, Srednevolzhskaya series, Quaternary-Pliocene map at Scale 1:200 000, Sheet M-38-V). Saint-Petersburg: VSEGEI. 1 p.
  9. Kurbanov R.N., Buylaert J.P., Stevens T. et al. (2022). A detailed luminescence chronology of the Lower Volga loess-paleosol sequence at Leninsk. Quat. Geochronology. Vol. 73. 101376. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quageo.2022.101376
  10. Kurbanov R.N., Murray A.S., Yanina T.A. et al. (2021). First optically stimulated luminescence ages of the early khvalynian Caspian Sea transgression in the lower Volga. Boreas. Vol. 50. No. 1. P. 134–146. https://doi.org/10.1111/bor.12478
  11. Kurbanov R.N., Belyaev V.R., Svistunov M.I. et al. (2023). New data on the age of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea. Izvestiya Rossiiskoi Akademii Nauk. Seriya geograficheskaya. Vol. 87. No. 1. P. 403–419. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31857/S2587556623030081
  12. Kvasov D.D. (1975). Pozdnechetvertichnaya istoria krupnykh ozer i vnutrennikh morei Vostochnoi Evropy (Late Pleistocene history of large lakes and inner seas of Eastern Europe). Leningrad: Nauka (Publ.). 278 p. (in Russ.).
  13. Makshaev R.R., Svitoch A.A. (2016). Chocolate clays of the northern Caspian Sea region: distribution, structure, and origin. Quat. Int. Vol. 409. P. 44–49. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2015.07.018
  14. Makshaev R.R., Tkach N.T. (2023). Chronology of Khvalynian stage of the Caspian Sea according to radiocarbon dating. Geomorfologiya i Paleogeografiya. Vol. 54. No. 1. P. 37–54. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31857/S0435428123010108
  15. Matlakhova E.Yu. (2014). Valdaiskii terrasovyi kompleks v rechnykh dolinakh tsentra Vostochno-Evropeiskoi ravniny (Valdai terrace complex in the river valleys of the central East European Plain). PhD thesis. Moscow: MGU. 26 p.
  16. Matlakhova E.Yu., Ukraintsev V.Yu., Panin A.V. (2021). The history of the Moksha River valley development in the end of the Late Pleistocene. Geomorfologiya. No. 3. P. 105–115. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31857/S043542812103007X
  17. Molod’kov A., Bitinas A. (2006). Sedimentary record and luminescence chronology of the Lateglacial and Holocene aeolian sediments in Lithuania. Boreas. Vol. 35. P. 244–254. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1502-3885.2006.tb01154.x
  18. Moskvitin A.I. (1958). Quaternary deposits and the history of evolution of the Middle Volga River valley. Trudy GIN AN SSSR. Vol. 12. 210 p. (in Russ.).
  19. Moskvitin A. I. (1962). Pleistocene oh the Lower Volga region. Trudy GIN AN SSSR. Vol. 64. 264 p. (in Russ.).
  20. Obedientova G.V. (1977). Erozionnye tsikly i formirovanie doliny Volgi (Erosional cycles and formation of the Volga valley). Moscow: Nauka (Publ.). 239 p. (in Russ.).
  21. Obedientova G.V., Gubonina Z.P. (1962). On the Khvalynian age in the Lower Volga region. In: Voprosy paleogeografii i geomorfologii basseinov Volgi i Urala. Moscow: AN SSSR (Publ.). P. 144–174. (in Russ.).
  22. Pánek T., Korup O., Miná J., Hradecký J. (2016). Giant landslides and highstands of the Caspian Sea. Geology.Vol. 44. P. 939–942. https://doi.org/10.1130/G38259.1
  23. Panin A., Matlakhova E. (2015). Fluvial chronology in the East European Plain over the last 20 ka and its palaeohydrological implications. Catena. Vol. 130. P. 46–61. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.catena.2014.08.016
  24. Reimer P.J., Austin W.E.N., Bard E. et al. (2020). The IntCal20 northern Hemisphere radiocarbon age calibration curve (0–55 cal ka BP). Radiocarbon. Vol. 62. Iss. 4. P. 725–757. https://doi.org/10.1017/RDC.2020.41
  25. Sedaikin V.M. (1988). Opornye razrezy chetvertichnykh otlozhenii severo-zapadnogo Prikaspiya (Reference Sections of the Quaternary Deposits of the North-Western Fore-caspian). VINITY. No. 1594-B-88. 190 p. (in Russ.).
  26. Semikolennyh D.V. (2022). Paleogeografiya prolivov Ponto-Kaspiya v pozdnem pleistotsene (Paleogeography of the Ponto-Caspian Straits in the Late Pleistocene). PhD thesis. Moscow: IGRAN. 26 p.
  27. Sidorchuk A.Yu., Ukraintsev V.Yu., Panin A.V. (2021) Estimating Annual Volga Runoff in the Late Glacial Epoch from the Size of River Paleochannels. Water resources. Vol. 48. No. 6. P. 864–876. https://doi.org/10.1134/S0097807821060178
  28. Stuiver M., Reimer P.J., Reimer R.W. (2021). CALIB8.1. http://calib.qub.ac.uk/calib/ (access date: 10.10.2024).
  29. Svitoch A. A. (2000). Lower and South part of Middle Volga region in the Pleistocene. Geomorfologiya. No. 1. P. 29–40. (in Russ.).
  30. Svitoch A.A. (2014). Bolʼshoi Kaspii: stroenie i istoriya razvitiya (The Great Caspian Sea: structure and history). Moscow: MGU (Publ.). 272 p. (in Russ.).
  31. Svitoch A.A., Makshaev R.R. (2020). Incompleteness of the geological record in Middle-Upper Pleistocene key sections of the Northern Caspian Lowland. Quat. Int. Vol. 540. P. 78–96. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2019.04.030
  32. Svitoch A.A., Makshaev R.R., Rostovceva Yu.V. et al. (2017). Shokoladnye gliny Severnogo Prikaspiya (Chocolate clays of the Northern Pre-Caspian). Moscow: Geograficheskii fakul’tet MGU (Publ.). 140 p. (in Russ.).
  33. Svitoch A.A., Markova A.K., Yanina T.A. (2021). Stratigraphy and the small mammal fauna of the Late Pleistocene sections in the south of the middle reaches of the Volga River. Quat. Int. Vol. 605–606. р. 93–107. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.12.001
  34. Svitoch A.A., Parunin O.B. (2000). Radiocarbon age of late Pleistocene-Holocene paleogeographical events in the Norther Pre-Caspian. Doklady Akademii nauk. Vol. 371. No. 4. P. 504–506. (in Russ.).
  35. Svitoch A.A., Yanina T.A. (1997). Chetvertichnye otlozheniya poberezhii Kaspiiskogo morya (Quaternary sediments of the Caspian Sea coasts). Moscow: RASHN (Publ.). 267 p. (in Russ.).
  36. Svitoch A.A., Yanina T.A., Khomenko A.A., Novikova N.G. (2009). Khvalynian deposits of Manych. Doklady Akademii nauk. Vol. 428. No. 1. P. 70–74. (in Russ.).
  37. Ukraintsev V.Yu. (2021). Evidences of the high river runoff in the river valleys of the Volga basin during the Late glacial. Geomorfologiya. No. 1. P. 26–34. (in Russ.). https://doi.org/10.31857/S0435428122010126
  38. Vasiliev Yu.M. (1961). Antropogene of the southern Volga region. Trudy geologicheskogo instituta AN SSSR. Vol. 49. 128 p. (in Russ.).
  39. Vodogretsky V.G. (Ed.). (1971). Resursy poverkhnostnykh vod SSSR. T. 12. Nizhnee Povolzh’e i Zapadnyi Kazahstan. Vyp. 1. (Surface water resources of the USSR. vol. 12. Lower Volga region and Western Kazakhstan. Iss. 1). Leningrad: Gidrometizdat (Publ.). 419 p. (in Russ.).
  40. Vostryakov A.V., Kuznetsova N.I., Makarov S.A. (Eds.). (1978). Chetvertichnye otlozheniya, rel’ef i neotektonika Nizhnego Povolzh’ya (Quaternary deposits, relief and neotectonics of the Lower Volga region). Saratov: Saratovskii universitet (Publ.). 184 p. (in Russ.).
  41. Yanina T.A. (2012). Neopleistotsen Ponto-Kaspiya: biostratigrafiya, paleogeografiya, korrelyatsiya (Neopleistocene of Pont-Caspian: biostratigraphy, paleogeography, correlation). M.: MGU (Publ.). 264 p. (in Russ.).
  42. Yanina T.A., Svitoch A.A., Kurbanov R.N. et al. (2017). Paleogeographic analysis of the results of optically stimulated luminescence dating of Pleistocene deposits of the Lower Volga area. Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Seriya 5. Geografiya. No. 1. P. 20–28. (in Russ.).
  43. Zastrozhnov A., Danukalova G., Golovachev M. et al. (2020). Biostratigraphical investigations as a tool for paleoenvironmental reconstruction of the Neopleistocene (Middle-Upper Pleistocene) at Kosika, Lower Volga, Russia. Quat. Int. Vol. 540. р. 38–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2018.11.036

Supplementary files

Supplementary Files
Action
1. JATS XML
Download
2. Fig. 1. Study area in the Maliy Karaman River valley. (a) – location of the key site (SRTM): 1 – cities, 2 – key area; (б) – surveyed points (Bing Map); (в) – general view of the valley; (г) – section MK-O; (д) – key points MK-3, MK-1.

Download (2MB)
Indexing metadata
3. Fig. 2. Geomorphological map of the key site in the Maliy Karaman River valley: (a) – hypsometric map (DTM created in this study), (б) – geomorphological map. 1 – interfluve; denudation relief: 2 – erosion-denudation slope (Q3); accumulative relief (alluvial-marine): 3 – surface of the third floodplain terrace (Q3hv1-1), 4 – surface of the second floodplain terrace, levels IIa and IIb (Q3hv1-2); accumulative relief (alluvial): 5 – surface of the first floodplain terrace (Q3-4); the surface of the floodplain: 6 – of high (Q4), 7 – of middle (Q4), 8 – of low (Q4); relief forms and elements: 9 – ravines, 10 – hollows, 11 – cliffs; other designations: 12 – isolines; 13 – key points; 14 – river bed; 15 – profile line.

Download (1MB)
Indexing metadata
4. Fig. 3. Geological and geomorphological profile along the line MK-9₋MK-3 (Maliy Karaman River valley). 1 – loess like loams (more than 15 m), eQ3; 2 – lower khvalynian horizon, alluvial-marine deposits, sands, siltstones, clays (up to 6 m), amQ3hv1-1; 3 – lower khvalynian horizon, alluvial-marine deposits, siltstones, chocolate clays (4–6 m), amQ3hv1-1; 4 – lower khvalynian horizon, alluvial-marine deposits, siltstones, chocolate clays (2–4 m), amQ3hv1-2; 5 – alluvial deposits, sands, sandy loams (up to 2.5 m), aQ3-4; 6 – Holocene horizon, alluvial deposits, sands, sandy loams (1–2 m), aQ4; 7 – IRSL dates (ka); 8 – radiocarbon dates (ka cal).

Download (719KB)
Indexing metadata
5. Fig. 4. Lithofacies structure of the lower khvalynian deposits of the Maly Karaman River valley: (а) – layered lower khvalynian sands with clay interlayers (layer 2), section MK-O, (б) – lower khvalynian chocolate clays (layer 3), section MK-3.

Download (601KB)
Indexing metadata

Copyright (c) 2025 Russian Academy of Sciences