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Direct AMS radiocarbon age of the MIS 3-2 thin composite wedges from Batagay Upper Sand

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 October 2025

Yurij Vasil’chuk Open the ORCID record for Yurij Vasil’chuk [Opens in a new window] ,
Alla Vasil’chuk Open the ORCID record for Alla Vasil’chuk [Opens in a new window] ,
Nadine Budantseva Open the ORCID record for Nadine Budantseva [Opens in a new window] ,
Igor V. Tokarev Open the ORCID record for Igor V. Tokarev [Opens in a new window]  and
Jessica Vasil’chuk Open the ORCID record for Jessica Vasil’chuk [Opens in a new window]
Yurij Vasil’chuk
Affiliation:
Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Alla Vasil’chuk*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Nadine Budantseva
Affiliation:
Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
Igor V. Tokarev
Affiliation:
Research Park, Saint Petersburg State University, Saint Petersburg, Russia
Jessica Vasil’chuk
Affiliation:
Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow, Russia
*
Corresponding author: Alla C. Vasil’chuk; Email: alla-vasilch@yandex.ru
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Abstract

We used AMS 14C dating to determine the age of the composite wedge formation in the Batagay Upper Sand unit. The composite wedges are interpreted as syngenetic structures; they have grown vertically upward with aggradation of the host sandy deposits. The formation of composite wedges in Upper Sand commenced no later than 38.3 cal ka BP and stopped not earlier than 25.5 cal ka BP in the northwestern part of the slump. In the formation of ice wedges within the Upper Sand, frost cracks extended to a depth of 5–7 m, surpassing the normal depth of 3–4 m observed in the Upper Ice Complex. The composite ice wedges in the Upper Sand formed at temperatures ranging from –47 to –54°C, as evidenced by the paleotemperature reconstruction of the isotope composition of the Upper Ice Complex’s ice wedges.

Keywords

AMS radiocarbon agecomposite wedgesmean January paleotemperaturestable isotopessyngenetic ice wedges

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Type
Research Article
Information
Radiocarbon , First View , pp. 1 - 16
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© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of University of Arizona

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