scholarly journals Assessments of Organic Carbon Stabilization Using the Spectroscopic Characteristics of Humic Acids Separated from Soils of the Lena River Delta

Separations ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (6) ◽  
pp. 87
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav Polyakov ◽  
Evgeny Abakumov
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Humic Acids ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
River Delta ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Organic Matter Stabilization ◽  
Lena River Delta

In the Arctic zone, where up to 1024 × 1013 kg of organic matter is stored in permafrost-affected soils, soil organic matter consists of about 50% humic substances. Based on the analysis of the molecular composition of humic acids, we assessed the processes of accumulation of the key structural fragments, their transformations and the stabilization rates of carbon pools in soils in general. The landscape of the Lena River delta is the largest storage of stabilized organic matter in the Arctic. There is active accumulation and deposition of a significant amount of soil organic carbon from terrestrial ecosystems in a permafrost state. Under ongoing climate change, carbon emission fluxes into the atmosphere are estimated to be higher than the sequestration and storing of carbon compounds. Thus, investigation of soil organic matter stabilization mechanisms and rates is quite an urgent topic regarding polar soils. For study of molecular elemental composition, humic acids were separated from the soils of the Lena River delta. Key structural fragments of humic matter were identified and quantified by CP/MAS 13C NMR spectroscopy: carboxyl (–COOR); carbonyl (–C=O); CH3–; CH2–; CH-aliphatic; –C-OR alcohols, esters and carbohydrates; and the phenolic (Ar-OH), quinone (Ar = O) and aromatic (Ar–) groups as benchmark Cryosols of the Lena delta river terrestrial ecosystem. Under the conditions of thermodynamic evolutionary selection, during the change between the dry and wet seasons, up to 41% of aromatic and carboxyl fragments accumulated in humic acids. Data obtained showed that three main groups of carbon played the most important role in soil organic matter stabilization, namely C, H-alkyls ((CH2)n/CH/C and CH3), aromatic compounds (C-C/C-H, C-O) and an OCH group (OCH/OCq). The variations of these carbon species’ content in separated humics, with special reference to soil–permafrost organic profiles’ recalcitrance in the current environment, is discussed.

scholarly journals Stabilization of organic material from soils and soil-like bodies in the Lena River Delta (13C-NMR spectroscopy analysis)

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vyacheslav Polyakov ◽  
Evgeny Abakumov
Keyword(s):  
Nmr Spectroscopy ◽  
Humic Acids ◽  
Soil Layer ◽  
13C Nmr Spectroscopy ◽  
River Delta ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Polar Regions ◽  
Alluvial Deposits ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Lena River Delta

The Arctic ecosystem has a huge reservoir of soil organic carbon stored in permafrost-affected soils and biosediments. During the short vegetation season, humification and mineralization processes in the active soil layer result in the formation of specific soil organic substances – humic substances. Humic acids are high molecular, specific, thermodynamically stable macromolecules. The study was conducted in the Lena River Delta, the largest river delta located in the Arctic. Cryosol-type soils on alluvial deposits of the river form an area of about 45 thousand km<sup>2</sup> under permafrost conditions. The vegetation cover is represented by moss-lichen communities with the presence of <em>Salix glauca</em> in the flooded areas, as well as <em>Betula nana</em> in the areas not subject to flooding. The paper presents the elemental and molecular composition of humic acids isolated from soils, integral indicators of humification (stabilization) of organic matter in the soils of the Lena River Delta. The study was conducted using the <sup>13</sup>C (CP/MAS) NMR spectroscopy method. In the work, it was revealed that up to 33% of aromatic and up to 15% COOR fragments are accumulated in humic acids. The AR/AL ratio ranged from 0.69 to 0.89. The studied soils are variants of modern soil formation (not subjected to alluvial processes) and soil-like bodies that melted from the IC of the river delta. A relatively high degree of condensation of humic acid macromolecules in comparison with other polar regions of the Arctic and Antarctic was noted.

scholarly journals Organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks in soils of the Lena River Delta

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (6) ◽  
pp. 3507-3524 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zubrzycki ◽  
L. Kutzbach ◽  
G. Grosse ◽  
A. Desyatkin ◽  
E.-M. Pfeiffer
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Active Layer ◽  
River Delta ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
River Terrace ◽  
Total N ◽  
Lena River ◽  
The Holocene ◽  
Lena River Delta ◽  
N Pool

Abstract. The Lena River Delta, which is the largest delta in the Arctic, extends over an area of 32 000 km2 and likely holds more than half of the entire soil organic carbon (SOC) mass stored in the seven major deltas in the northern permafrost regions. The geomorphic units of the Lena River Delta which were formed by true deltaic sedimentation processes are a Holocene river terrace and the active floodplains. Their mean SOC stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 29 kg m−2 &amp;pm; 10 kg m−2 and at 14 kg m−2 ± 7 kg m−2, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total SOC pool of the Holocene river terrace was estimated at 121 Tg ± 43 Tg, and the SOC pool of the active floodplains was estimated at 120 Tg ± 66 Tg. The mass of SOC stored within the observed seasonally thawed active layer was estimated at about 127 Tg assuming an average maximum active layer depth of 50 cm. The SOC mass which is stored in the perennially frozen ground at the increment 50–100 cm soil depth, which is currently excluded from intense biogeochemical exchange with the atmosphere, was estimated at 113 Tg. The mean nitrogen (N) stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 1.2 kg m−2 ± 0.4 kg m−2 for the Holocene river terrace and at 0.9 kg m−2 ± 0.4 kg m−2 for the active floodplain levels, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total N pool of the river terrace was estimated at 4.8 Tg ± 1.5 Tg, and the total N pool of the floodplains was estimated at 7.7 Tg ± 3.6 Tg. Considering the projections for deepening of the seasonally thawed active layer up to 120 cm in the Lena River Delta region within the 21st century, these large carbon and nitrogen stocks could become increasingly available for decomposition and mineralization processes.

Soil organic matter in soils of the Russian Arctic: insights from 13C-NMR spectroscopy

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ivan Alekseev ◽  
Evgeny Abakumov
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Soil Organic Matter ◽  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Humic Acids ◽  
13C Nmr ◽  
Cold Climate ◽  
Molecular Organization ◽  
Cold Temperatures ◽  
Organic Matter Stabilization ◽  
Global Carbon

&lt;p&gt;Polar soils play a key role in global carbon circulation and stabilization as they contain maximum stocks of soil organic matter (SOM) within the whole pedosphere. Cold climate and active layer dynamics result in the stabilization of essential amounts of organic matter in soils, biosediments, and grounds of the polar biome. Chemical composition of soil organic carbon (SOC) determines its decomposability and may affect soil organic matter stabilization (SOM) rate (Beyer, 1995). This is quite important for understanding variability in SOC pools and stabilization rate in context of changes in plant cover or climate (Rossi et al. 2016). &lt;sup&gt;13&lt;/sup&gt;C nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, which provides detailed information on diversity of structural composition of humic acids and SOM, may also be used to study the SOM dynamics under decomposition and humification proceses (Kogel-Knabner, 1997; Zech et al., 1997). This study aims to characterize molecular organization of the humic acids, isolated from various permafrost-affected soils of Yamal region and to assess the potential vulnerability of soils organic matter in context of possible mineralization processes. Organic carbon stocks for studied area were 7.85 &amp;#177; 2.24 kg m-2 (for 0-10 cm layer), 14.97 &amp;#177; 5.53 kg m-2 (for 0-30 cm), 23.99 &amp;#177; 8.00 kg m-2 (for 0-100 cm). Results of solid-state 13C-NMR spectrometry showed low amounts of aromatic components in studied soils. All studied humic powders are characterized by predominance of aliphatic structures, and also carbohydrates, polysaccharides, ethers and amino acids. High content of aliphatic fragments in studied humic acids shows their similarity fulvic acids. Low level of aromaticity reflects the accumulation in soil of lowly decomposed organic matter due to cold temperatures. Our results provide further evidence of high vulnerability and sensitivity of permafrost-affected soils organic matter to Arctic warming. Consequently, these soils may play a crucial role in global carbon balance under effects of climate warming.&lt;/p&gt;

scholarly journals Origin and Pathways of Dissolved Organic Carbon in a Small Catchment in the Lena River Delta

2022 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lydia Stolpmann ◽  
Gesine Mollenhauer ◽  
Anne Morgenstern ◽  
Jens S. Hammes ◽  
Julia Boike ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Dissolved Organic Carbon ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Aquatic Systems ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Small Catchment ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Thermokarst Lake ◽  
Doc Concentration ◽  
Lena River Delta

The Arctic is rich in aquatic systems and experiences rapid warming due to climate change. The accelerated warming causes permafrost thaw and the mobilization of organic carbon. When dissolved organic carbon is mobilized, this DOC can be transported to aquatic systems and degraded in the water bodies and further downstream. Here, we analyze the influence of different landscape components on DOC concentrations and export in a small (6.45 km2) stream catchment in the Lena River Delta. The catchment includes lakes and ponds, with the flow path from Pleistocene yedoma deposits across Holocene non-yedoma deposits to the river outlet. In addition to DOC concentrations, we use radiocarbon dating of DOC as well as stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes (δ18O and δD) to assess the origin of DOC. We find significantly higher DOC concentrations in the Pleistocene yedoma area of the catchment compared to the Holocene non-yedoma area with medians of 5 and 4.5 mg L−1 (p &lt; 0.05), respectively. When yedoma thaw streams with high DOC concentration reach a large yedoma thermokarst lake, we observe an abrupt decrease in DOC concentration, which we attribute to dilution and lake processes such as mineralization. The DOC ages in the large thermokarst lake (between 3,428 and 3,637 14C y BP) can be attributed to a mixing of mobilized old yedoma and Holocene carbon. Further downstream after the large thermokarst lake, we find progressively younger DOC ages in the stream water to its mouth, paired with decreasing DOC concentrations. This process could result from dilution with leaching water from Holocene deposits and/or emission of ancient yedoma carbon to the atmosphere. Our study shows that thermokarst lakes and ponds may act as DOC filters, predominantly by diluting incoming waters of higher DOC concentrations or by re-mineralizing DOC to CO2 and CH4. Nevertheless, our results also confirm that the small catchment still contributes DOC on the order of 1.2 kg km−2 per day from a permafrost landscape with ice-rich yedoma deposits to the Lena River.

scholarly journals Coloured dissolved organic matter in aquatic ecosystems of three representative regions of the Arctic according to the data obtained in year 2019

2020 ◽  
Vol 163 ◽  
pp. 04006
Author(s):  
Anastasiia Pashovkina ◽  
Irina Fedorova
Keyword(s):  
Organic Matter ◽  
Dissolved Organic Matter ◽  
Kola Peninsula ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
River Delta ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Yamal Peninsula ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Lena River Delta ◽  
The Yamal Peninsula

In this study the laboratory analysis of water samples from three representative regions of the Arctic for content of coloured dissolved organic matter (CDOM) – the important component of natural waters, which has a direct impact on state of aquatic ecosystems, was made. Samples were collected from water objects from the Kola Peninsula, the Yamal Peninsula and the Lena River Delta. The results of the analysis made it possible to determine CDOM concentrations in water. According to the average values, the highest values were obtained for the Yamal Peninsula and lowest – for the Kola Peninsula. The predominance of allochthonous CDOM in the water objects from all three regions was revealed. Moreover, the complete absence of photodegradation processes was determined. For the lakes and rivers from the Kola Peninsula it was also possible to follow seasonal dynamic of CDOM concentration in water and to compare it with earlier obtained data concerning seasonal CDOM dynamic in the Lena River Delta. Results are actual due to the currently existing tendency of climate change which leads to intensification of thermal denudation and thermal erosion processes in the cryolithozone, which are consequently increasing income of allochthonous CDOM in water objects.

scholarly journals Sentinel-1 SAR Interferometry for Surface Deformation Monitoring in Low-Land Permafrost Areas

2018 ◽  
Vol 10 (9) ◽  
pp. 1360 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tazio Strozzi ◽  
Sofia Antonova ◽  
Frank Günther ◽  
Eva Mätzler ◽  
Gonçalo Vieira ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Time Series ◽  
Surface Displacement ◽  
Deformation Monitoring ◽  
In Situ Measurements ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Sar Interferometry ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Lena River Delta

Low-land permafrost areas are subject to intense freeze-thaw cycles and characterized by remarkable surface displacement. We used Sentinel-1 SAR interferometry (InSAR) in order to analyse the summer surface displacement over four spots in the Arctic and Antarctica since 2015. Choosing floodplain or outcrop areas as the reference for the InSAR relative deformation measurements, we found maximum subsidence of about 3 to 10 cm during the thawing season with generally high spatial variability. Sentinel-1 time-series of interferograms with 6–12 day time intervals highlight that subsidence is often occurring rather quickly within roughly one month in early summer. Intercomparison of summer subsidence from Sentinel-1 in 2017 with TerraSAR-X in 2013 over part of the Lena River Delta (Russia) shows a high spatial agreement between both SAR systems. A comparison with in-situ measurements for the summer of 2014 over the Lena River Delta indicates a pronounced downward movement of several centimetres in both cases but does not reveal a spatial correspondence between InSAR and local in-situ measurements. For the reconstruction of longer time-series of deformation, yearly Sentinel-1 interferograms from the end of the summer were considered. However, in order to infer an effective subsidence of the surface through melting of excess ice layers over multi-annual scales with Sentinel-1, a longer observation time period is necessary.

scholarly journals Lena River Delta formation during the Holocene

2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 4085-4122 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. Bolshiyanov ◽  
A. Makarov ◽  
L. Savelieva
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
River Delta ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Laptev Sea ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Sea Levels ◽  
Marine Terraces ◽  
Delta Formation ◽  
Carbon Reservoir ◽  
Lena River Delta

Abstract. The Lena River Delta, the largest delta of the Arctic Ocean, differs from other deltas because it consists mainly of organomineral sediments, commonly called peat, that contain a huge organic carbon reservoir. The analysis of Delta sediment radiocarbon ages showed that they could not have formed as peat during floodplain bogging, but accumulated when Laptev Sea water level was high and green mosses and sedges grew and were deposited on the surface of flooded marshes. The Lena River Delta formed as organomineral masses and layered sediments accumulated during transgressive phases when sea level rose. In regressive phases, the islands composed of these sediments and other, more ancient islands were eroded. Each new sea transgression led to further accumulation of layered sediments. As a result of alternating transgressive and regressive phases the first alluvial-marine terrace formed, consisting of geological bodies of different ages. Determining the formation age of different areas of the first terrace and other marine terraces on the coast allowed the periods of increasing (8–6 Ka, 4.5–4 Ka, 2.5–1.5 Ka, 0.4–0.2 Ka) and decreasing (5 Ka, 3 Ka, 0.5 Ka) Laptev Sea levels to be distinguished in the Lena Delta area.

scholarly journals Dynamics of the relief and sesmotectonic activity of the modern structures in the delta of the river lena

2019 ◽  
pp. 62-77
Author(s):  
L. P. Imaeva ◽  
G. S. Gusev ◽  
V. S. Imaev
Keyword(s):  
Transition Zone ◽  
North American ◽  
Active Faults ◽  
River Delta ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Main Element ◽  
Dominant Factor ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Lithospheric Plates ◽  
Lena River Delta

This paper presents seismogeodynamic analysis of modern structures located in the Lena river delta. These structures are key elements in the tectonic evolution of the shelf–continent transition zone in the Arctic segment of the boundary between the Eurasian and North American lithospheric plates. The geological structure of the Lena river delta is predetermined by the junction of the ancient Siberian platform and the Mesozoic Laptev Sea plate. These two large geoblocks of the crust, which differ in age, are separated by a fragment of the Kharaulakh segment of the Verkhoyansk fold system. In our study aimed to reveal regularities in seismotectonic destruction of the crust, we analyzed the geological and geophysical data on the crustal structure, active faults, modern structural plan, dynamic characteristics of the modern relief, and hydrological features characterizing of the flow redistribution in the Lena riverbed. A system of active faults identified in the Lena river delta shows a contrasting kinematic plan of the junction zone of the main geostructures. According to the analysis results, shear faulting is a dominant factor of impact on the morphologic features and seismogeodynamic activation of the modern structures. A regional right-lateral strike-slip fault of the sublatitudinal strike is traced as a major structural boundary that cuts the Lena river delta into several geodynamic segments. Seismotectonic destruction of the crust in the segments differs in types (transpression, transtension and compression). The above-mentioned fault is not only the main element of the kinematic plan of the newest structures in the Lena river delta – it controls the general structural pattern and seismotectonic parameters of active fault zones in the entire northern sector of the Verkhoyansk marginal suture. The seismogeodynamic analysis results obtained in our study provide a reliable basis for estimating potential seismic hazard of the modern structures in the Lena river delta and updating the available seismic zoning maps of the shelf–continent transition zone in the Arctic segment of the boundary between the Eurasian and North American lithospheric plates.

scholarly journals Organic carbon and total nitrogen stocks in soils of the Lena River Delta

2012 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 17263-17311 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. Zubrzycki ◽  
L. Kutzbach ◽  
G. Grosse ◽  
A. Desyatkin ◽  
E.-M. Pfeiffer
Keyword(s):  
Organic Carbon ◽  
Soil Organic Carbon ◽  
Active Layer ◽  
River Delta ◽  
River Terrace ◽  
Total N ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Carbon Mass ◽  
Organic Carbon Pool ◽  
Lena River Delta

Abstract. The Lena River Delta, which is the largest delta in the Arctic, extends over an area of 32 000 km2 and likely holds more than half of the entire soil organic carbon mass stored in the seven major deltas in the northern permafrost regions. The geomorphic units of the Lena River Delta which were formed by true deltaic sedimentation processes are a Holocene river terrace and the active floodplains. Their mean soil organic carbon stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 29 kg m−2 ± 10 kg m−2 and at 14 kg m−2 ± 7 kg m−2, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total soil organic carbon pool of the Holocene river terrace was estimated at 121 Tg ± 43 Tg, and the soil organic carbon pool of the active floodplains was estimated at 120 Tg ± 66 Tg. The mass of soil organic carbon stored within the observed seasonally thawed active layer was estimated at about 127 Tg assuming an average maximum active layer depth of 50 cm. The soil organic carbon mass which is stored in the perennially frozen ground below 50 cm soil depth, which is excluded from intense biogeochemical exchange with the atmosphere, was estimated at 113 Tg. The mean nitrogen (N) stocks for the upper 1 m of soils were estimated at 1.2 kg m−2 ± 0.4 kg m−2 for the Holocene river terrace and at 0.9 kg m−2 ± 0.4 kg m−2 for the active floodplain levels, respectively. For the depth of 1 m, the total N pool of the river terrace was estimated at 4.8 Tg ± 1.5 Tg, and the total N pool of the floodplains was estimated at 7.7 Tg ± 3.6 Tg. Considering the projections for deepening of the seasonally thawed active layer up to 120 cm in the Lena River Delta region within the 21st century, these large carbon and nitrogen stocks could become increasingly available for decomposition and mineralization processes.

scholarly journals Trace metal distribution in pristine permafrost-affected soils of the Lena River Delta and its Hinterland, Northern Siberia, Russia

2013 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 2205-2244 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. Antcibor ◽  
S. Zubrzycki ◽  
A. Eschenbach ◽  
L. Kutzbach ◽  
D. Bol'shiyanov ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Trace Elements ◽  
Organic Matter ◽  
Trace Metal ◽  
Climatic Changes ◽  
River Delta ◽  
Metal Distribution ◽  
Background Concentrations ◽  
Lena River ◽  
Trace Metal Distribution ◽  
Lena River Delta

Abstract. Soils are an important compartment of ecosystems and have the ability to immobilize chemicals preventing their movement to other environment compartments. Predicted climatic changes together with other anthropogenic influences on Arctic terrestrial environments may affect biogeochemical processes enhancing leaching and migration of trace elements in permafrost-affected soils. This is especially important since the Arctic ecosystems are considered to be very sensitive to climatic changes as well as to chemical contamination. This study characterizes background levels of trace metals in permafrost-affected soils of the Lena River Delta and its hinterland in northern Siberia (73.5° N–69.5° N) representing a remote region far from evident anthropogenic trace metal sources. Investigations on total element contents of iron (Fe), arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), zinc (Zn), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), cobalt (Co) and mercury (Hg) in different soil types developed in different geological parent materials have been carried out. The highest concentrations of the majority of the measured elements were observed in soils belonging to ice-rich permafrost sediments formed during the Pleistocene (ice-complex) in the Lena River Delta region. Correlation analyses of trace metal concentrations and soil chemical and physical properties at a Holocene estuarine terrace and two modern floodplain levels in the southern-central Lena River Delta (Samoylov Island) showed that the main factors controlling the trace metal distribution in these soils are organic matter content, soil texture and contents of iron and manganese-oxides. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed that soil oxides play a significant role in trace metal distribution in both top and bottom horizons. Occurrence of organic matter contributes to Cd binding in top soils and Cu binding in bottom horizons. Observed ranges of the background concentrations of the majority of trace elements were similar to background levels reported for other pristine arctic areas and did not exceed mean global background concentrations examined for the continental crust as well as for the world's soils.

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