Late Pleistocene glaciation in the Eastern Carpathians – a regional overview

Past glaciation of temperate‐continental mountains: A model for a debris‐charged plateau icefield/cirque glacier landsystem in the Southern Carpathians, Romania

“…Likewise, the debris‐rich cirque glacier component of the landsystem is not dissimilar to that of the majority of former cirque and valley glaciers in all the Romanian Carpathians (Urdea et al, 2022a, 2022b, 2022c, 2022d, 2022e; Urdea et al, 2022) and the Western Carpathians (e.g., Tatra Mountains) (Zasadni, Kłapyta, Kałuża, & Makos, 2022; Zasadni et al, 2022a, 2022b, 2022c; Zasadni, Kłapyta, Tołoczko‐Pasek, & Makos, 2022; Zasadni, Makos, & Kłapyta, 2022). Indeed, previous research in the Romanian Carpathians highlighted a glacial geomorphology throughout the last deglaciation that was characterised by debris‐charged palaeoglaciers (e.g., Balaban, 2018; Gheorghiu, 2012; Gheorghiu et al, 2015; Kłapyta et al, 2021, 2022; Kłapyta, Mîndrescu, & Zasadni, 2023; Kłapyta, Zasadni, & Mîndrescu, 2023; László et al, 2013; Reuther et al, 2007; Ruszkiczay‐Rüdiger et al, 2016, 2021), but the exact timing and causes of glacial recession have not been assessed in detail (Popescu, Urdea, & Vespremeanu‐Stroe, 2017). Consequently, there is a need to apply a landsystem approach to geomorphological mapping and couple it with radiometric dating programmes and numerical ice models to enable robust comparisons of spatio‐temporal changes in glaciation style across a wider region.…”

“…The most recent studies consider an alpine (glacial, periglacial and paraglacial) geomorphological model as a framework for palaeoglaciation and palaeoclimate reconstruction. This has either focused on applying absolute/relative dating methods and/or numerical ice modelling (Balaban, 2018; Gheorghiu, 2012; Gheorghiu et al, 2015; Ignéczi & Nagy, 2016; Kłapyta et al, 2021, 2022; Kłapyta, Mîndrescu, & Zasadni, 2023; Kłapyta, Zasadni, & Mîndrescu, 2023; Kuhlemann, Dobre, et al, 2013; László et al, 2013; Reuther et al, 2007; Ruszkiczay‐Rüdiger et al, 2016, 2021; Tîrlă et al, 2020; Urdea & Reuther, 2009), or conducting quantitative inventories of landform characteristics (Gunnell et al, 2022; Mîndrescu & Evans, 2014, 2017; Mîndrescu et al, 2010; Necșoiu et al, 2016; Onaca, Ardelean, et al, 2017; Onaca et al, 2013; Popescu, 2018; Popescu et al, 2021; Popescu, Onaca, Urdea & Vespremeanu‐Stroe, 2017; Șerban et al, 2019; Vasile et al, 2022; Vespremeanu‐Stroe et al, 2012). Despite this work, the relationships between palaeoclimate, geomorphology, and glaciation style and dynamics, particularly in a mountain landsystem context, remain poorly understood.…”