Аннотация:The age of cryogenic microforms covering the surface of the Subarctic mountains has yet been discussed
and a little is known of its evolution. However subarctic mountainous landscapes are very sensitive even to
slightest changes in the environment, and the smallest landforms those appear due to alternate freezing
and thawing of the soppy ground are the first to receive the impact. Based on the vast amount of field data
gathered in 2011-2013 at the Khibiny Mountains, Kola Peninsula, and the Subpolar Urals 10 radiocarbon
dates were obtained for different elements of cryogenic microforms. At the Urals turf rampart of the
medallion is around 14C 450 yrs and sod buried under the ledge of solifluction terrace is around 14C 150
yrs. The age of peat interlayer at the base of terraces (Khibiny) is 14C 3300-3400 and 800-900 yrs. Buried
sods under its ramparts are younger – from 14C 1000-1600 to 300 yrs correspondingly. Consequently
solifluction rates are considered 1.4-2.2 mm/yr. The appearance of those biogenic elements marks the
transition from one stage of microrelief evolution to another. Resting upon the radiocarbon data and
space-time analysis the duration of each stage varies from first decades up to several hundreds of years
while the age of a particular form can reach up to the first thousands of years. The stages continuously
replace each other in time, or evolve, during the Late Holocene as for the temporary climate warming or
cooling (e.g. Little Ice Age). The age differences of microforms at various heights reflect uneven local and
regional palaeogeographic conditions of mountainous massifs and could be used as an indicator of the
environmental changes. The study is supported by RSF (project № 14-37-00038).