TY - JOUR

T1 - Mobilization of Geochemical Elements to Surface Water in the Active Layer of Permafrost in the Russian Arctic

AU - Ji, Xiaowen

AU - Abakumov, Evgeny

AU - Polyakov, Vyacheslav

AU - Xie, Xianchuan

N1 - Funding Information: The authors are grateful to the editor and three anonymous reviewers for taking their valuable time to review our manuscript and provide helpful comments that greatly contributed to the improvement of this manuscript. This work was supported by a grant from the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (16‐34‐60,010, 19‐416‐890002, and 19‐05‐50,107); by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (52070094); and by a grant from Saint‐Petersburg State University “Urbanized ecosystems of the Russian Arctic: dynamics; state and sustainable development (Grant no. 39377455).” The authors would like to thank Miss Yu Su from the School of Visual Arts at BFA Computer Art for helping with data visualization, and Miss Ekaterina Kuznetsova from the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University for helping with the Russian translation. Publisher Copyright: © 2020. American Geophysical Union. All Rights Reserved. Copyright: Copyright 2021 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.

PY - 2021/1

Y1 - 2021/1

N2 - The predicted increase of ground temperatures in the Arctic results in the deepening of the active layer and intensification of geochemical processes. Determining the responses of riparian soil systems to surrounding hydrological flows is important for understanding seasonal changes in hydrological processes. In this study, one soil core from a polygon rim (close to the Taz River, TA) and two soil cores from a riverine terrace (close to the Syoyakha River, SY and Murtyyakha River, MU) in Western Siberia, Russia, and their suprapermafrost water, adjacent surface flows, and river water were sampled for analysis of geochemical elements. Results showed that most elements above their respective detection limits began accumulating in the underlying gleyed layer during September-October in response to the deepest thaw in the active layer. This study focused on the highly mobile elements in the deepest layer; and found that the transport of organic matter in the upper layer carried these elements to both surface water ponds/flows and suprapermafrost water, and further, to the rivers. The efflux of released elements from surface soil to surrounding surface water appeared to be low. The best linear correlation for both surface flows and river water was with Mn; therefore, Mn may be a proxy for predicting the processes occurring within the active layer during the annual summer-autumn thaw. Moreover, landscapes with different ice contents may experience changes in the elements transported to surface waters. A general conceptual model for the response of elements to the thawing-freezing process of the active layer is established.

AB - The predicted increase of ground temperatures in the Arctic results in the deepening of the active layer and intensification of geochemical processes. Determining the responses of riparian soil systems to surrounding hydrological flows is important for understanding seasonal changes in hydrological processes. In this study, one soil core from a polygon rim (close to the Taz River, TA) and two soil cores from a riverine terrace (close to the Syoyakha River, SY and Murtyyakha River, MU) in Western Siberia, Russia, and their suprapermafrost water, adjacent surface flows, and river water were sampled for analysis of geochemical elements. Results showed that most elements above their respective detection limits began accumulating in the underlying gleyed layer during September-October in response to the deepest thaw in the active layer. This study focused on the highly mobile elements in the deepest layer; and found that the transport of organic matter in the upper layer carried these elements to both surface water ponds/flows and suprapermafrost water, and further, to the rivers. The efflux of released elements from surface soil to surrounding surface water appeared to be low. The best linear correlation for both surface flows and river water was with Mn; therefore, Mn may be a proxy for predicting the processes occurring within the active layer during the annual summer-autumn thaw. Moreover, landscapes with different ice contents may experience changes in the elements transported to surface waters. A general conceptual model for the response of elements to the thawing-freezing process of the active layer is established.

KW - active layer

KW - Arctic

KW - geochemical elements

KW - permafrost-affected soils

KW - seasonal thawing, surface water

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85099758987&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/d83ac6da-074d-362d-98e2-ffa99e92e51e/

U2 - 10.1029/2020WR028269

DO - 10.1029/2020WR028269

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85099758987

VL - 57

JO - Water Resources Research

JF - Water Resources Research

SN - 0043-1397

IS - 1

M1 - e2020WR028269

ER -