CONSIDERATIONS ON THE QUATERNARY GLACIATION IN THE MIDDLE MOUNTAINS OF ROMANIA

The problem of the Quaternary glaciation of the Carpathian Mountains system in Romania was studied by many natural scientists in the last century. The problems of the glacial relief and Quaternary glaciation were addressed at the beginning of the twentieth century by Hungarian (Szadeczky, 1905, 1906) and Polish (Sawiki, 1909) researchers. Because the expressed opinions were controversial, I propose to clarify some aspects of this problem of great importance for the evolution of the Carpathian landscape and for the Romanian geosciences.

Starting from the previous research cited in the literature, I investigated representative mountain units in the Southern Carpathians and Apuseni Mountains and conducted the first investigations of glaciation in the Bihor Massif in the middle mountains area.

Under conditions of low temperatures and abundance of snow precipitation, plateau, cirque, and valley glaciers formed in the middle mountains during the Pleistocene. The glaciers left distinctive deposits and morphological features.

The pre-glacial relief played an important role in the formation of glaciers. The predominant winds from north and northwest determined the accumulation of snow and the appearance of the glaciers, especially on the slopes oriented to east and northeast, a situation representative of the Bihor Mountains, Maramureş Mountains, and Muntele Mic.

On the basis of geomorphological evidence, I conclude that the middle mountains of Romania were affected by two glaciations. During the maximum glacial stage, the reconstructed valley and cirque glaciers had modest dimensions, up to 1.5-2 km long and under 1 km2 in area; only plateau glaciers were larger than 1 km2. The local snow-line in the study area wase about 100-150 m lower than the highest mountains of Transylvanian Alps, at 1500-1550 m. Proceeding with the reconstruction of the climatic conditions, I conclude that at 1836 m asl, the altitude of Vlădeasa meteorological station, the annual mean temperature was –11.65ºC (July and August, –1.7 and 0.5 ºC), and the annual precipitation was 870 mm. At 1108 m asl, the elevation of Stâna de Vale meteorological station, annual mean temperature was –9.5ºC (July and August, 2.3 ºC), and the annual rainfall was 1238 mm. A second glacial stage was even less widespread, with only small cirque glaciers and niche glaciers.