Earth’s Cryosphere, 2023, Vol. XXVII, No. 2, p. 14-20.
SURFACE AND GROUND WATERS IN TERRESTRIAL PERMAFROST REGION
THE CHEMICAL COMPOSITION OF WATER OF LARGE EAST SIBERIAN RIVERS AND ITS DEPENDENCE ON THE THICKNESS OF SEASONALLY THAWED LAYER IN THE CATCHMENTS
O.I. Gabysheva1,*, V.A. Gabyshev1, I.A. Yakshina2
1 Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone, Yakutsk Science Center, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, prosp. Lenina 41, Yakutsk, 677980 Russia
2 Lena Delta Nature Reserve, Akad. Fedorova St. 28, Tiksi, 678400 Russia
*Corresponding author; e-mail: g89248693006@yandex.ru
The main features of the chemical composition and physical characteristics of water in twelve largest rivers of East Siberia (Lena, Vilyui, Kolyma, Aldan, Olenek, Vitim, Indigirka, Amga, Olekma, Anabar, Yana, and Chara) were determined on the basis of observations during summer low-water runoff in 2007–2011. It was found that favorable oxygen regime, relatively high values of the chemical oxygen demand and water color, higher concentration of total iron and ammonium ions, and moderate salinity are characteristic of the studied rivers. East Siberia is a region with a ubiquitous distribution of permafrost. The thickness of seasonally thawed layer within river catchments is extremely variable. Using canonical-correlation analysis, it was found that concentrations of specific components of ionic constituents (water hardness, calcium, magnesium, bicarbonates, sulfate ions, and salinity) depend on the active layer thickness (ALT). Herewith, the deeper the active layer in a catchment, the higher the concentrations of these ionic constituents in river water. This is explained by the fact that permafrost serves as a barrier preventing infiltration of surface water into deep mineral horizons and thus limiting water saturation with mineral ions.
Keywords: physico-chemical composition of water, major ions, salinity, permafrost, seasonally thawed layer, large rivers, East Siberia
Recommended citation: Gabysheva O.I., Gabyshev V.A., Yakshina I.A., 2023. The chemical composition of water of large East Siberian rivers and its dependence on the thickness of seasonally thawed layer in the catchments. Earth’s Cryosphere XXVII (2), 14–20.