A case for a downwasting mountain glacier during Termination I,Verçenik valley,northeastern Turkey

Field evidence of palaeoglacial records in the Verçenik valley in the Eastern Black Sea Mountains was examined and 19 samples for surface exposure dating with cosmogenic ¹⁰Be were collected with the aim of increasing knowledge on the amplitude and frequency of palaeoglacier advances in Anatolia. Glacial erosional features were mapped and the flow directions of the palaeoglaciers were determined. The Verçenik palaeoglacier advanced before 26.1 k ± 1.2 k yr. The Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) advance continued until 18.8 k ±1.0 k yr. The Verçenik palaeoglacier collapsed during Termination I. After 17.7 k ± 0.8 k yr there was no more ice in the main valley. The Verçenik palaeoglacier most probably then separated into five small glaciers that were restricted to the tributary valleys. Among these, the Hem?in palaeoglacier completed its recession around 15.7 k ± 0.8 k yr. On the basis of glacial erosion features, a Lateglacial glacier advance can be identified. Evidence of the Little Ice Age advance appears to be absent. The results from this valley system seem to be consistent with the first results from the adjacent Kavron valley and with the Anatolian LGM palaeoclimate, the sea surface temperature minima in the western Mediterranean, the deposition of red clay layers in the Black Sea and deposition of the Heinrich‐1 layer in the North Atlantic. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.