ALBERT

Description: The average monthly and annual air temperatures in the vicinity of Batagay settlement the near Batagay megaslump, located in the Verkhoyansk region, northern Yakutia are shown between 1949-2020.

Description: Cryogenic soils near Batagay megaslump, located in the Verkhoyansk region, northern Yakutia were investigated in detail in August-September 2019. Soil samples from the Batagay megaslump were analyzed for organic carbon and humic substances. The pH was determined in soil extracts. On the slope to the Batagay megaslump, a soil catena was studied. It included the near-summit surface of the Kirgilyakh slope, the middle part of the slope, as well as the bord of the Batagai megaslump. The soil cover in the area of the Batagay ravine is represented by various types of soils formed on permafrost rocks, mainly Cryosols Gleyic, found in various landscape conditions, and Podzols Entic are also sporadically distributed in the area. On alluvial deposits in the valley of the Batagaika river Podzols Haplic are formed. Leptosols Lithic are confined to the elevation of the relief with bedrock located close to the surface. The main processes typical for soils in the Batagay megaslump area are: cryogenic structuring, organic matter accumulation, Al-Fe-humus and gleiing processes. Above the permafrost horizon a local minimum of pH values was noted both in Podsols Entic and in Cryosols Gleyic.

Description: Average content of some trace elements in ice wedges, structure ice, Batagaika and Yana River water. Samples were taken rom the Batagay megaslump, 10 km to south east from Batagay settlement in the Verkhoyansky District of the Yakutia (Sakha) Republic, Russia. The analysis was carried out in samples filtered through the membrane filter (filtered) as well as in samples, that were taken after organic inclusions were precipitated (unfiltered).

Description: Trace elements in soil and soil inclusions of ice wedges from the Batagay megaslump, 10 km to south east from Batagay settlement in the Verkhoyansky District of the Yakutia (Sakha) Republic, Russia.

Description: The total content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the peat of a palsa near Eletsky settlement, Vorkuta urban district, Komi Republic, varies from 11 to 360 ppb, with an average of 63 ppb. Heavy compounds, such as benzo(a)anthracene and benzofluoranthenes, are prevalent among PAHs. Benzo(a)anthracene decreases with depth, while benzofluoranthenes increases. The presence of PAHs in the peat is determined by three main factors: technogenic impact, wildfires, and biogeochemical soil processes. The prevalence of benzo(a)anthracene in the upper part of the palsa down to the bottom of the active layer suggests an anthropogenic impact (the influence of transport and domestic fuel combustion). Two sharp peaks of PAHs content (260 and 360 ppb) are observed; they coincide with a local increase of carbon isotope values, most likely resulting from wildfires. The minimums in PAHs content are presumably determined by the biogeochemical factor and the input of polyarenes generated by decomposition of plant residues.

Description: The oganic carbon content, δ13С values (‰) and content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) was determined in pedogenic material of Batagay ice wedges.

Description: We studied the ionic composition of ice, the content of suspended and dissolved trace- and major elements in ice, values of δ¹³С, and the composition of PAHs of inclusions in the Late Pleistocene syngenetic ice wedges of the Batagay yedoma. For the first time, the complex geochemical study of Batagay megaslump was carried out. The ice of the upper and lower complex of different ages was studied. Mineralisation of the Late Pleistocene ice wedges of Batagay yedoma ranges from 66.56 to 424.8 mg/l, from ultrafresh to desalinated, the ionic composition of the ice is bicarbonate-calcium and corresponds to snow formed under the influence of continental air masses. The proportion of Ca contained in dissolved form is not more than 20-30%; as for the other elements, the proportion of Mg, K, Na, Al, Fe, Mn, Sr, Ba in suspended form is greater than 90%. The content of trace elements in inclusions in ice wedges and soils is equal, which confirms the pedogenic origin of the inclusions in ice. According to our data, values of δ¹³С in lipids of the pedogenic material in ice decrease with depth. The lowest values (values of δ¹³С less than -30‰) were observed in the ice wedge of the upper complex at a depth of 7.4-8.6 m. The increase of δ¹³C values of lipids from pedogenic material in ice wedges with depth is due to the landscape change from grassland ecosystems to forest ecosystems, and may also be influenced by the increased frequency of fires that occurred during the transition to forest ecosystems and the disappearance of large herbivores.

Description: Ionic omposition of ice wedges from the Batagay megaslump, 10 km to south east from Batagay settlement in the Verkhoyansky District of the Yakutia (Sakha) Republic, Russia.

Description: The main purpose of this work is to establish the formation time of Holocene syngenetic ice wedges that have been exposed on the coast of Baydarata Bay near the village of Yarynskaya, 500 m to the southeast from the mouth of the Ngarka-Tambyakha River.Radiocarbon dating of microinclusions of organic matter, extracted directly from three Holocene syngenetic ice wedges, was conducted using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The dating of the wedges correlates to their formation approximately 6.4, 5.0, and 1.9 cal ka BP. A comparison of the oxygen isotopic composition of the Holocene ice wedges (in which the δ18О values vary mainly from -21.8 to -13.73%) and modern ice wedges (the age of which, as a rule, does not exceed 100 years) showed a close range of variations in values. According to isotope oxygen data, the average January air paleotemperature in the Middle and Late Holocene at the coast of the Baydarata Bay was calculated. It is shown that the average January air temperature during this period here varied from about -20 to -25 °C, however, during milder winters it could be about -18 °C. Radiocarbon dating of ice samples and organic microinclusions extracted directly from ice wedges was carried out at the Radiocarbon Laboratory of the Institute of Geography, Russian Academy of Sciences, and the Center for Applied Isotope Research, University of Georgia (United States). The age was calibrated using the IntCal20 curve and Oxcal version 4.4.4 software. The age of organic matter (cal yr BP) from ice wedges was calibrated until 1950.

Description: The main purpose of this work is to establish the formation time of Holocene syngenetic ice wedges that have been exposed on the coast of Baydarata Bay near the village of Yarynskaya, 500 m to the southeast from the mouth of the Ngarka-Tambyakha River.Radiocarbon dating of microinclusions of organic matter, extracted directly from three Holocene syngenetic ice wedges, was conducted using accelerator mass spectrometry (AMS). The dating of the wedges correlates to their formation approximately 6.4, 5.0, and 1.9 cal ka BP. A comparison of the oxygen isotopic composition of the Holocene ice wedges (in which the δ18О values vary mainly from -21.8 to -13.73%) and modern ice wedges (the age of which, as a rule, does not exceed 100 years) showed a close range of variations in values. According to isotope oxygen data, the average January air paleotemperature in the Middle and Late Holocene at the coast of the Baydarata Bay was calculated. It is shown that the average January air temperature during this period here varied from about -20 to -25 °C, however, during milder winters it could be about -18 °C. Ice samples were collected from ice wedges along the vertical profile every 10 cm using Makita DDF481rte 18B and Bosch GSR 36 VE-2-LI drills with steel ice crowns with a diameter of 51 mm. Measurements of the oxygen isotopic compositions in ice were performed on a Picarro L 2130-i laser infrared spectrometer at the Center for X-ray Diffraction Studies at the Research Park of St. Petersburg State University (XRD Center SPbU). The following international standards were used: V-SMOW-2, GISP, SLAP, USGS-45, and USGS-46. The measurement errors were ±0.02‰ for δ18O. In total, 63 samples of ice wedges were analyzed.