Morphology of river channels and surface runoff in the Volga River basin (East European Plain) during the Late Glacial period

Morphology of the large palaeochannels over the entire periglacial belt of the Northern Hemisphere shows distinct evidence of high surface runoff at the Late Glacial time. Channel width and meander wavelength of 73 well-preserved fragments of large palaeochannels were measured in the Volga River basin (East European Plain). Palynological studies of palaeo-Moskva River alluvium make it possible to locate the climatic and hydrological region-analogues of the Late Glacial landscapes. These analogues allowed reconstruction of the former surface runoff of the Late Glacial rivers, as well as the total volume of flow to the Caspian Sea, using the transform functions. These reconstructions support the ‘climatic’ hypothesis of the Khvalyn transgression of the Caspian Sea and explain high water levels during this transgression without melt water inflow from the receding Scandinavian ice-sheet.