V.I. ASTAKHOV (VSEGEI, SPbU), L.YE. PESTOVA, V.K. SHKATOVA (VSEGEI)

Loessoids of the Russian Federation: distribution and age

One of byproducts of the ongoing VSEGEI project of compiling the GIS Quaternary Map of Russia is the sketch map of loessoids, i.e. silty rocks, also called loess and loess-like deposits. This illustrated essay is an explanatory note to the sketch map. The information is derived from standard national geological maps, scale 1:1,000,000, of the last two generations and complemented by literature data. The mapped targets are loessoid units, including southern carbonate loess with paleosols, loess-like silts of northern terrains, intercalations of loessic sediments with waterlain facies in Siberia and icy silts in the Arctic. The loessoid formations are classified according to the wide stratigraphic ranges: 1 – the Upper Pleistocene, 2 – the Middle Pleistocene plus the Upper Pleistocene, 3 – the late Lower Pleistocene to the Upper Pleistocene and 4 – the entire Pleistocene. Numerous paleosols reflect an intermittent subaerial process independent of water accumulation agents. They serve as important markers in Quaternary climatic stratigraphy.
Keywords: loess, loessoid, yedoma, paleosol, Russian Federation.