The Ponto-Caspian region: Environmental consequences of climate change during the Late Pleistocene

Evolution of the Caspian and Black Sea (Pont) Basins environments was analyzed in comparison, and both general and specific features of their development under multi-scale and multi-directional changes of climate during the Late Pleistocene were identified. The cold extensive transgressions of the Caspian Sea and the transgressions of the Caspian type of the Pontian Basin, not exceeding the present sea level, developed synchronously in the cold (glacial) climatic epochs. The maximum height of level of the Caspian transgressions was limited by the height of the Manych threshold, and the transgressions of the Caspian type in the Pontian Basin by the height of the Bosporus threshold. The warm small transgressions of the Caspian Sea and the marine (Mediterranean type) transgressions of the Pont with maximum level developed during the warm interglacial epochs. In the Caspian these occurred mainly during the interglacial endothermal (cool and moist) phases, while marine transgressions of the Pont correlated with the interglacial transgressions of the World Ocean. The cold transgressions of the Caspian Sea and the Caspian type transgressions of the Pontian Basin developed asynchronously with the transgressions of the World Ocean. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd and INQUA. All rights reserved.