Hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea: new developments
<p>It has been well established that during the late Quaternary, the Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea occurred, when the sea level rose tens of meters above the present level. Here, we evaluate the physical feasibility of the hypothesis that the maximum phase of this extraordinary e...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Copernicus Publications
2024-01-01
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| Series: | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| Online Access: | https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/28/241/2024/hess-28-241-2024.pdf |
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| author | A. Gelfan A. Gelfan A. Panin A. Panin A. Kalugin P. Morozova V. Semenov V. Semenov V. Semenov A. Sidorchuk V. Ukraintsev V. Ukraintsev K. Ushakov K. Ushakov |
| author_facet | A. Gelfan A. Gelfan A. Panin A. Panin A. Kalugin P. Morozova V. Semenov V. Semenov V. Semenov A. Sidorchuk V. Ukraintsev V. Ukraintsev K. Ushakov K. Ushakov |
| author_sort | A. Gelfan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | <p>It has been well established that during the late Quaternary, the Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea occurred, when the sea level rose tens of meters above the present level. Here, we evaluate the physical feasibility of the hypothesis that the maximum phase of this extraordinary event (known as the “Early Khvalynian transgression”) could be initiated and maintained for several thousand years solely by hydroclimatic factors. The hypothesis is based on recent studies dating the highest sea level stage (well above <span class="inline-formula">+</span>10 m a.s.l.) to the final period of deglaciation, 17–13 kyr BP, and studies estimating the contribution of the glacial waters in the sea level rise for this period as negligible. To evaluate the hypothesis put forward, we first applied the coupled ocean and sea-ice general circulation model driven by the climate model and estimated the equilibrium water inflow (irrespective of its origin) sufficient to maintain the sea level at the well-dated marks of the Early Khvalynian transgression as 400–470 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. Secondly, we conducted an extensive radiocarbon dating of the large paleochannels (signs of high flow of atmospheric origin) located in the Volga basin and found that the period of their origin (17.5–14 ka BP) is almost identical to the recent dating of the main phase of the Early Khvalynian transgression. Water flow that could form these paleochannels was earlier estimated for the ancient Volga River as 420 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>, i.e., close to the equilibrium runoff we determined. Thirdly, we applied a hydrological model forced by paleoclimate data to reveal physically consistent mechanisms of an extraordinarily high water inflow into the Caspian Sea in the absence of a visible glacial meltwater effect. We found that the inflow could be caused by the spread of post-glacial permafrost in the Volga paleocatchment. The numerical experiments demonstrated that the permafrost resulted in a sharp drop in infiltration into the frozen ground and reduced evaporation, which all together generated the Volga runoff during the Oldest Dryas, 17–14.8 kyr BP, up to 360 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> (i.e., the total inflow into the Caspian Sea could reach 450 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>). The closeness of the estimates of river inflow into the sea, obtained by three independent methods, in combination with the previously obtained results, gave us reason to conclude that the hypothesis put forward is physically consistent.</p> |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:28:51Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-cd91b78e82f145d488d60e6da59dc834 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1027-5606 1607-7938 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T13:28:51Z |
| publishDate | 2024-01-01 |
| publisher | Copernicus Publications |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-cd91b78e82f145d488d60e6da59dc8342024-01-17T11:19:23ZengCopernicus PublicationsHydrology and Earth System Sciences1027-56061607-79382024-01-012824125910.5194/hess-28-241-2024Hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea: new developmentsA. Gelfan0A. Gelfan1A. Panin2A. Panin3A. Kalugin4P. Morozova5V. Semenov6V. Semenov7V. Semenov8A. Sidorchuk9V. Ukraintsev10V. Ukraintsev11K. Ushakov12K. Ushakov13Water Problems Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaFaculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaWater Problems Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaWater Problems Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaWater Problems Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaObukhov Institute of Atmospheric Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaFaculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, RussiaWater Problems Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaInstitute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaWater Problems Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, RussiaShirshov Institute of Oceanology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia<p>It has been well established that during the late Quaternary, the Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea occurred, when the sea level rose tens of meters above the present level. Here, we evaluate the physical feasibility of the hypothesis that the maximum phase of this extraordinary event (known as the “Early Khvalynian transgression”) could be initiated and maintained for several thousand years solely by hydroclimatic factors. The hypothesis is based on recent studies dating the highest sea level stage (well above <span class="inline-formula">+</span>10 m a.s.l.) to the final period of deglaciation, 17–13 kyr BP, and studies estimating the contribution of the glacial waters in the sea level rise for this period as negligible. To evaluate the hypothesis put forward, we first applied the coupled ocean and sea-ice general circulation model driven by the climate model and estimated the equilibrium water inflow (irrespective of its origin) sufficient to maintain the sea level at the well-dated marks of the Early Khvalynian transgression as 400–470 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>. Secondly, we conducted an extensive radiocarbon dating of the large paleochannels (signs of high flow of atmospheric origin) located in the Volga basin and found that the period of their origin (17.5–14 ka BP) is almost identical to the recent dating of the main phase of the Early Khvalynian transgression. Water flow that could form these paleochannels was earlier estimated for the ancient Volga River as 420 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>, i.e., close to the equilibrium runoff we determined. Thirdly, we applied a hydrological model forced by paleoclimate data to reveal physically consistent mechanisms of an extraordinarily high water inflow into the Caspian Sea in the absence of a visible glacial meltwater effect. We found that the inflow could be caused by the spread of post-glacial permafrost in the Volga paleocatchment. The numerical experiments demonstrated that the permafrost resulted in a sharp drop in infiltration into the frozen ground and reduced evaporation, which all together generated the Volga runoff during the Oldest Dryas, 17–14.8 kyr BP, up to 360 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span> (i.e., the total inflow into the Caspian Sea could reach 450 km<span class="inline-formula"><sup>3</sup></span> yr<span class="inline-formula"><sup>−1</sup></span>). The closeness of the estimates of river inflow into the sea, obtained by three independent methods, in combination with the previously obtained results, gave us reason to conclude that the hypothesis put forward is physically consistent.</p>https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/28/241/2024/hess-28-241-2024.pdf |
| spellingShingle | A. Gelfan A. Gelfan A. Panin A. Panin A. Kalugin P. Morozova V. Semenov V. Semenov V. Semenov A. Sidorchuk V. Ukraintsev V. Ukraintsev K. Ushakov K. Ushakov Hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea: new developments Hydrology and Earth System Sciences |
| title | Hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea: new developments |
| title_full | Hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea: new developments |
| title_fullStr | Hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea: new developments |
| title_full_unstemmed | Hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea: new developments |
| title_short | Hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the Early Khvalynian transgression of the Caspian Sea: new developments |
| title_sort | hydroclimatic processes as the primary drivers of the early khvalynian transgression of the caspian sea new developments |
| url | https://hess.copernicus.org/articles/28/241/2024/hess-28-241-2024.pdf |
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