ИСТИНА

The results of the study of the Western Taymyr ice complex are discussed. Western Taymyr is a natural boundary of ice complex distribution. In contrast to Yakutia and Alaska, the Western Taymyr ice complex is less thick, includes smaller syngenetic ice wedges and is younger. The Western Taymyr ice complex formed in two stages. The lower topsoil layer formed in the Late Pleistocene; the ice wedges have a calcium hydrocarbonate composition and a light composition of oxygen isotopes. The upper topsoil layer formed during the cold periods of the Holocene and it is characterized by a sodium chloride composition and a heavier composition of oxygen isotopes. The organic carbon content in the upper topsoil layer is higher than in the lower one. The conclusion concerning a certain change in natural conditions at the turn of Pleistocene/Holocene was made.