dc.description.abstract | Filling of dolines with aeolian sediments,
one of the less frequently described ways in which
they are filled, is analysed in the present study on an
example of a doline in the high-mountain karst of the
Dinarides. There is a series of deep dolines on a broad
ridge (about 2450 m a.s.l.) on Mt. Durmitor
(Montenegro) in the southeastern part of the
Dinarides. The accumulation of very fine-grained
sand that almost completely fills one of the dolines
was analysed. More than 99% of the accumulation
was found to be composed of well-sorted quartz
grains with an average size of 89 µm and no vertical
differences in granulometric or textural
characteristics. With respect to mineral composition,
the accumulation differs significantly from that
prevalent in this part of the Dinarides, in which
different kinds of carbonate rocks are dominant. The
conducted analyses indicated an aeolian origin of the
sediments. Significant aridification that began in the
Middle Holocene made the area of North Africa a
source of sediments that were transported by the
aeolian process to neighbouring regions.
Geomorphological-sedimentological research on Mt.
Durmitor and earlier investigations of the wider
Mediterranean region indicate that dolines in highmountain karst can be filled with aeolian sediments.
The sediments originated from territory of the
northern Sahara, and the filling occurred in the Late
Holocene, at the close of the African humid period.
The present study shows that apart from the influence
of local factors, regional geomorphological processes
such as aeolian transport can also exert significant
influence on the filling of dolines. It also indicates a
high intensity and strongly expressed dynamics of
aeolian sediment transport from the territory of Africa
to this part of Southern Europe. | sr |