Bathymetry and Sedimentary Environments of Lake Issyk-Kul, Kyrgyz Republic (Central Asia): A Large, High-Altitude, Tectonic Lake

Batist, Marc De; Imbo, Y.; Vermeesch, P. M.; Klerkx, J.; Giralt, Santiago; Delvaux, Damien; Lignier, Vincent; Beck, Christian; Калугин, И. А.; Abdrakhmatov, Kanatbek

doi:10.1007/978-94-010-0491-6_9

Cited by 20 publications

(33 citation statements)

References 8 publications

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“…This is consistent with younger lake beds documenting a Holocene impoundment east of the Kutemaldinsky Threshold to levels as high as 1620 m asl, up to the present elevation of the sill (Figure ). Also, larger gaps in the sedimentary record begin at ~20 ka and overlap with a major lake‐level fall to 1500 m asl (Bowman et al ., 2004a), well below the present lake surface, from 10 ka to 5 ka (De Batist et al, ). Shells from lake beds between ~1000 and 150 cal yr BP at 1620 m asl record a renewed highstand of Issyk Kul (Samples 9 and 10, Figure ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The modern orogeny results from ongoing far-field deformation of the colliding Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates (Tapponnier and Molnar, 1979). Northward-directed shortening rates between the northern and southern shores of Issyk Kul measured by GPS are 5-6 mm yr -1 (Zubovich et al, 2010), and seismic profiles reveal shortened sediment layers on the lake-basin floor (De Batist et al, 2002). North of Issyk Kul, the prominent Ak-Teke anticline shows Quaternary deformation with a record of up to 17 possible earthquakes (Korjenkov et al, 2007), and slip rates of 0.1-1.5 mm yr -1 (Selander et al, 2012) along faults bordering the Kungey Ranges.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Highstands occur mostly in August to September owing to seasonal changes in water inflow and evaporation (Romanovsky, 2002). The Djyrgalan and Tjup rivers entering the lake from the east are its primary sources of water and sediment (De Batist et al, 2002). The lake has been endorheic for the past 150 years (Giralt et al, 2004) and was formerly drained by the Chu River (De Batist et al, 2002).…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Historical records confirm that lake levels changed by as much as 90 mm yr -1 (Ricketts et al, 2001;Romanovsky, 2002 and references therein; Table S1, Supporting material). Submerged channels and terraces also require lake levels~110 m lower than today (De Batist et al, 2002), possibly attained in Late Pleistocene (Markov, 1971; Bondarev and Sevastianov, 1991 and Middle Holocene times (Trofimov, 1978). The isotopic composition of Holocene ostracods indicates alternating opening and closing of the lake basin (Ricketts et al, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…comm., 2011). Overall, however, the climatic and tectonic drivers of lake-level changes remain disputed (De Batist et al, 2002), leaving the Quaternary history of the lake largely unresolved (Grosswald et al, 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Late Pleistocene outburst floods from Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan?

Rosenwinkel

Landgraf

Schwanghart

et al. 2017

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Elevated shorelines and lake sediments surrounding Issyk Kul, the world's second largest mountain lake, record fluctuating lake levels during Quaternary times. Together with bathymetric and geochemical data, these markers document alternating phases of lake closure and external drainage. The uppermost level of lake sediments requires a former damming of the lake's western outlet through the Boam gorge. We test previous hypothesised ice or landslide dam failures by exploring possible links between late Quaternary lake levels and outbursts. We review and recompile the chronology of reported changes in lake site, and offer new ages of abandoned shorelines using 14C in bivalve and gastropod shells, and plant detritus, as well as sand lenses in delta and river sediments using Infrared Stimulated Luminescence. Our dates are consistent with elevated lake levels between ~45 ka and 22 ka. Cosmogenic 10Be and 26Al exposure ages of fan terraces containing erratic boulders (>3 m) downstream of the gorge constrain the timing of floods to 20.5–18.5 ka, postdating a highstand of Issyk Kul. A flow‐competence analysis gives a peak discharge of >104 m3 s–1 for entraining and transporting these boulders. Palaeoflood modelling, however, shows that naturally dammed lakes unconnected to Issyk Kul could have produced such high discharges upon sudden emptying. Hence, although our data are consistent with hypotheses of catastrophic outburst floods, average lake‐level changes of up to 90 mm yr–1 in the past 150 years were highly variable without any outbursts, so that linking lake‐level drops to catastrophic dam breaks remains ambiguous using sedimentary archives alone. This constraint may readily apply to other Quaternary lakes of that size elsewhere. Nonetheless, our reconstructed Pleistocene floods are among the largest reported worldwide, and motivate further research into the palaeoflood hydrology of Central Asia. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Late Pleistocene outburst floods from Issyk Kul, Kyrgyzstan?

Rosenwinkel

Landgraf

Schwanghart

et al. 2017

Earth Surf Processes Landf

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Determining the spatial and temporal patterns of climate changes in China's western interior during the last 15 ka from lacustrine oxygen isotope records

Ricketts

Colman

2008

J Quaternary Science

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Colman, S. M. 2009. Determining the spatial and temporal patterns of climate changes in China's western interior during the last 15 ka from lacustrine oxygen isotope records.ABSTRACT: China's western interior is a climatologically complex region, where climatic conditions are primarily controlled by the westerly jet stream and the Asian monsoon system. Observations reveal that the d 18 O signatures of these atmospheric elements as expressed in their meteoric waters are different, and these differences are reflected in the lacustrine systems that are ultimately fed by the meteoric waters. Empirical orthogonal function (EOF) decomposition of 17 lacustrine d 18 O records from this area clearly reveals the spatial and temporal structures of climate changes during the last 15 ka. The first EOF mode, dominated by sites in the NW sector, captures the temperature effect on the variability of the d 18 O dataset. We interpret the variations through time in the amplitude of this mode to be indicative of changes in summer air temperature. The second EOF mode, heavily weighted by sites in the SE sector, reveals the 'amount effect' on d 18 O, and thus its amplitude time series indicates changes in the intensity of the Asian summer monsoon. Our EOF-based reconstructions of regional climate are generally consistent with the d 18 O records of ice cores, cave speleothems and marine carbonates.

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