Glaciers in the Polar Urals, Russia, were not much larger during the Last Global Glacial Maximum than today

10Be exposure dates from boulders indicate that the Chernov Moraines located only 1 km beyond the Chernov Glacier in the Polar Urals, Russia, were formed during the time of the Last Global Glacial Maximum (LGM). Six samples from large boulders on the moraine yielded a mean age of 21.5±2.3 (std. error) kyr. The distinct semicircular Usa Moraine is located beyond the western flank of the Urals. Boulders in the valley between the Chernov and Usa moraines yielded some spread in 10Be-ages, but four out of seven yielded ages 50–60 kyr. We conclude that the Usa and Chernov Moraines represent the maximum glacier extent during Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 4 and 2, respectively. The exceptionally small extent of the LGM glacier is explained with a dry LGM climate, but also with the fact that present day cirque glaciers in the Polar Urals are extremely favoured by topographical factors such as leeward accumulation and shadowing mountain walls, advantages which decrease when the glaciers grow.