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A note on rock glaciers in the Albanian Alps
Author(s) -
Palmentola G.,
Baboci K.,
Gruda G. J.,
Zito G.
Publication year - 1995
Publication title -
permafrost and periglacial processes
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.867
H-Index - 76
eISSN - 1099-1530
pISSN - 1045-6740
DOI - 10.1002/ppp.3430060306
Subject(s) - younger dryas , rock glacier , geology , glacier , permafrost , physical geography , geomorphology , vegetation (pathology) , glacial period , geography , oceanography , medicine , pathology
In the Albanian Alps, above 1700 m a.s.1., sixteen inactive rock glaciers have been identified, all colonized by herbaceous vegetation. Assuming a −2°C isotherm for the activity of rock glaciers, and after calculating the atmospheric lapse rate, it is estimated that thermal conditions must have been 6.4°C lower than the present mean annual temperature. Because rock glaciers occupied surfaces covered by ice during the periglacial Würm period, they cannot be older than 14,000‐17,000 years; so they are probably referable to the Dryas. Such a temperature drop took place probably during the Dryas.