Earth’s Cryosphere, 2023, Vol. XXVII, No. 3, p. 14-27.
GEOLOGICAL CRYOGENIC PROCESSES AND FORMATIONS
EROSIONAL PROCESSES IN SMALL TUNDRA CATCHMENTS IN THE NORTH OF YAKUTIA
A.M. Tarbeeva1,*, V.S. Efremov2, L.S. Lebedeva2, V.V. Shamov2,3
1 Lomonosov Moscow State University, Faculty of Geography, Leninskie Gory 1, Moscow, 119991 Russia
2 Melnikov Permafrost Institute, Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Merzlotnaya St. 36, Yakutsk, 677010 Russia
3 Pacific Geographical Institute, Far East Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Radio St. 7, Vladivostok, 690041 Russia
*Corresponding author; e-mail: amtarbeeva@yandex.ru
Erosion plays an important role in removing permafrost degradation products. In order to identify the rates and mechanisms of erosion in degrading permafrost, fluvial landforms in small catchments at the foothills of the Kharaulakh Ridge were typified, and their morphology, formation conditions, and dynamics for 2019–2022 were characterized. The most dynamic landforms associated with melting ice wedges are thermokarst runoff hollows (water tracks), potholes, and thermoerosional gullies. Thermoerosional gullies forming in sediments without wedged ice grow upon very high floods; in the rest of the time, their sides slowly slide down under the action of snowfields. Sediments from gullies and potholes are deposited in the upper reaches of small rivers. The channels of small rivers are relatively stable, which is also typical of other permafrost regions. Differences in the dynamics of erosional landforms can be explained by an increase in the thermal rather than mechanical impact of water on frozen deposits, which is observed with the rise in air temperature against the background of relatively stable precipitation in the north of Yakutia.
Keywords: water tracks, rills, gullies, small rivers, thermal erosion, Arctic, permafrost, climate change
Recommended citation: Tarbeeva A.M., Efremov V.S., Lebedeva L.S., Shamov V.V., 2023. Erosional processes in small tundra catchments in the north of Yakutia. Earth’s Cryosphere XXVII (3), 14–27.