Reconstruction of Late Pleistocene glaciers on Mount Lovćen, Montenegro

The study of Pleistocene glaciations in the Dinaric Alps began at the end of the 19th century. Since then, the interpretation of glaciation in this area has not seen much study until the beginning of the 21st century, when a few modern geomorphological studies with numerical dating and equilibrium line altitude (ELA) reconstructions were carried out in the SE part of the Dinaric Alps (where Mount Lovćen is situated). The morphology of Mount Lovćen consists of a karst landscape modified by glacial processes. This paper presents geomorphological evidence of glaciations on Mount Lovćen, along with a reconstruction of paleoglacier dimensions and estimations of the paleo-equilibrium line altitude. Mapping of glacial landforms on Mount Lovćen revealed at least two different glacial events. Only limited patches of older glacial deposits were identified, and therefore the reconstruction of glacier dimensions and ELA were only performed for the younger glaciation. This glacier extended over an area of at least 39.9 km2 and reached a maximum thickness of about 290 m. The regional ELA for the Mount Lovćen glaciers was calculated as 1259 m.