LATE PLEISTOCENE GLACIATION OF KANIN PENINSULA, RUSSIA: FIELD OBSERVATIONS AND PRELIMINARY SURFACE EXPOSURE DATING

The Kanin Peninsula, approximately 67-69°N and 43-47°E in northwestern Russia, is situated near the reconstructed confluence of the Scandinavian Ice Sheet and ice sheets centered in the Barents Sea region. Recent publications place this boundary or the limit of glaciation during Late Weischelian on or near the Kanin Peninsula with little supporting terrestrial glacial geologic data. Thus, the Kanin Peninsula is a key location to constrain reconstructions of glaciation of the Barents Sea region. During field seasons in 2001 and 2002, four sites were investigated on the northern portion of the peninsula. Exposures of single or multiple tills up to 60 m thick occur along most portions of the coast. The upper surface of these deposits is a terrace lacking glacial landforms but characterized by thermokarst features and thick deposits of peat. A steep escarpment controlled by resistant metamorphic rock leads to a higher elevation surface (100-200 m a.s.l.). The topography of the upper surface is more irregular, with abundant tors, steep-walled canyons incised in bedrock, and additional periglacial features. The only indications of glaciation on the upper surface are isolated granitic erratics and thin and sporadic remnants of diamict. Preliminary ¹⁰Be exposure ages on three erratic boulders from this upper surface are 62 ± 4, 118 ± 8, and 44 ± 4 ka. Additional ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al analyses are in progress on over 30 samples from exposed erratic boulders and quartz veins in bedrock. Our preliminary analyses and field observations suggest limited glaciation either not covering or not affecting the higher elevation surfaces on Kanin Peninsula during the Last Glacial Maximum.