А. Klimchouk. Development of the deepest karst systems and submarine discharge of the Arabika massif (Western Caucasus): the role of the late miocene regression of Eastern Paratethys

Submitted by Vlad on Fri, 08/10/2018 - 11:52
English

https://doi.org/10.15407/gpimo2018.01.058

Geology and Mineral Resources of World Ocean 2018, 14 (1): 58-82

А. Klimchouk

Institute of Geological Sciences NAS of Ukraine, Kyiv

Development of the deepest karst systems and submarine discharge of the Arabika massif (Western Caucasus): the role of the late miocene regression of Eastern Paratethys

The large mountainous massif Arabika in the Western Caucasus borders directly with the sea coast. Karstified limestones that comprise the massif submerge below sea level toward the south-west. Numerous deep caves have been explored in the central high-mountainous part of the massif, two of which have a depth (from the entrances) of more than 2000 m. The unique concentration of superdeep caves and the features of the hydrogeology of the massif (the huge thickness of the vadose zone, active conduit circulation on large depths, the presence of a the low-gradient, high permeability zone in the coastal area and the submarine discharge at the sea, the proven connection of the coastal and submarine springs with the recharge areas in the highland part) testify to the impact on the karst development of a deep sea-level drop in the past. The latest studies on the paleogeography of Eastern Paratethys in the late Miocene time indicate that such a decline in the water level in the Euxine basin took place in the period of about 5.6 to 5.4 million years, with the maximum (up to 500—600 m) corresponding to the glacial peaks of TG12 and TG14 and the  peak  of  the  Messinian  salinity  crisis.  A model is proposed for the evolution of karst systems of the massif taking into account the role of marine regressions and differentiated uplifts in the Pliocene-Quaternary time.

Keywords: Arabika massif, deepest caves, submarine discharge, fluctuations in the level of the Black Sea, Messinian salinity crisis.

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