Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
3.2.8 Greece
In Greece, glacial deposits and landforms, from the northern Pindos to Crete, have
been identified by numerous workers (see review by Woodward and Hughes, 2011,
and references therein). Hughes
et al.
(2006b) correlated the various glacial and
periglacial units recorded on Mount Tymphi in northern Greece with cold-stage
intervals recorded in the pollen stratigraphy at nearby Ioannina (Table 3.1).
The oldest and most extensive glaciation in Greece is called the Skamnellian
Stage, after the village of Skamnelli, and the type section (representative expo-
sure of glacial deposits of this age) occurs in the deposits south of the village at
c. 39
◦
54
08
N, 20
◦
50
40
E, 984 m asl. This glaciation has been correlated with
Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12, which was a major period of glaciation in Eu-
rope between c. 480 and 430 ka. Ice covered an area of 59.3 km
2
and formed an
ice field over the Tymphi plateau between the peaks of Gamila (2497 m asl) and
Astraka (2436 m asl) from where ice tongues spilled down into the nearby gorges
above the Aoos and Vikos canyons. The mean ELA of the glaciers on Mount Tym-
phi during the Skamnellian Stage was 1741 m asl. Hughes
et al.
(2007b) argued that
the large glaciation of the Skamnellian Stage was forced by very low temperatures,
with summer temperatures at least 11
◦
C lower than modern summer values.
The next cold stage recorded by glacial deposits in Greece is termed the Vlasian
Stage after the mountain of Vlasi (c. 2200 m asl) separating the Vourtapa and upper
Laccorponti valleys on Mount Tymphi. The type locality for this stage is situated on
the eastern side of Vlasi, at c. 39
◦
55
50
N, 20
◦
51
10
E, 1650 m asl in the Vourtapa
valley, where moraines are clear and well preserved (Figure 3.7). This glaciation
has been correlated with MIS 6, which occurred between c. 190 and 127 ka. Other
glaciations may have occurred in the mountains of Greece between MIS 12 and MIS
6, but there is no record of these glaciations in the northern Pindos Mountains and
thus any glaciers, if they formed, are likely to have been smaller than the Vlasian
Stage glaciers. On Mount Tymphi, glaciers were significantly smaller during the
Vlasian Stage compared with the Skamnellian Stage and covered a total area of
21.3 km
2
, less than half the area of the Skamnellian Stage ice. They were just over
120 m higher than the latter glaciers, with an ELA of 1862 m asl.
The most recent glaciation on Mount Tymphi occurred during the Tymphian
Stage, which is named after the mountain itself. Most of the glacial and periglacial
deposits are situated in cirques close to the mountain's central and highest ridge.
The type locality is characterized by the moraines and relict rock glaciers of the
Tsouka Rossa cirque, at c. 39
◦
58
45
N, 20
◦
50
40
E, 2025 m asl. The glaciers were
small during this cold stage and covered an area of just 3.9 km
2
. This is because the
ELA was positioned close to the highest ridges, at c. 2174 m asl. Eight rock glaciers
also formed at the same time as these glaciers and had a lower latitude of c. 1800 m
asl. Some of these rock glaciers developed from moraines formed by higher cirque
glaciers whilst others formed at the base of steep scree slopes. Hughes
et al.
(2003,
2006c) used this evidence to reconstruct climate during the Tymphian Stage - the
last ice age in Greece - and found that temperatures were 8.9
◦
C lower than today
