DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.1.25910

Abstract: Frozen mounds are the object of the study, the formation of which is associated with segregation of ice and moisture migration to the freezing front. Two varieties are considered as follows: typical palsa in the peat bogs, and lithalsa – ice-mineral (and sometimes mineral-ice) mounds in mineral dispersed sediments. A review of the isotopic composition of seasonal and perennial frozen mounds is presented. Three main sources of water for lithalsa and palsa are distinguished. The main research method is the analysis of oxygen and hydrogen isotopic composition of the ice cores of the lithalsa and palsa. The new results of the study are as follows: a) the isotope composition of the segregated ice of the palsa and lithalsa cores is usually quite homogeneous: variations in oxygen rarely exceed 2-3‰; b) there is a definite correspondence between the isotopic composition of the ice of the palsa and lithalsa and the isotopic composition of the water of surrounding bog is lighter by 2-3‰; this is a result of fractionation during the freezing of the bog waters; c) comparison of the isotopic composition in the segregated ice of the palsa and lithalsa, atmospheric, surface and boggy waters revealed a close isotope-oxygen and isotope-hydrogen composition of them.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.2.26319

Abstract: This article is devoted to the consideration of issues related to the formation of local zones with signs of dynamic metamorphism in permafrost. Data on the cryogenic formation structures with traces of plastic and discontinuous deformations, as well as signs of flow in a solid, liquid and gaseous form are analyzed. The possibility of using the fluid dynamical approach in the study of dynamic processes in the cryolithozone is considered. The development of the fluid dynamic topic necessitates consideration of non-traditional geocryological objects associated with fluid formations in the cryolithozone. The main attention is given to the structural method associated with the analysis of the features of the cryogenic formations structure and the method of actualism associated with the analysis of the conditions for the fluids formation. In the first part of the article, the paragenetic relationships between the features of the frozen soils formations on the Arctic coasts, the formation of inland water flows and the structural and texture features of the cryogenic formations are considered. A section of marine sediments in the area of the Nei-To lake in Central Yamal was chosen as the research object.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.2.36145

Abstract: This article is dedicates to the assessment of the contribution of Professor Vasilchuk to the development of isotopic geocryology, as well as testing the reliability of paleogeocryological reconstructions based on the study of isotopic composition of polygonal ice wedges. His discovery of direct dependence of isotopic composition of the sprouts of modern ice wedges on the temperature characteristics of the winter season of 1989 marked the beginning of a promising research of the Holocene and Late Pleistocene syngenetic ice wedges as a reliable paleoclimatic archive. He was first to obtain the characteristics of the winter period for the late Pleistocene and Holocene, as well as create the maps for distributing paleotemperatures for the key periods of Late Pleistocene. The data on the isotopic composition of ice wedges acquired by other scholars later fit into the distribution of paleotemperature within the cryolithozone reconstructed by Professor Vasilchuk. For establishing the degree of reliability of paleotemperature reconstructions, the authors tested the ratio proposed by Y. K. Vasilchuk and regression equations from the works of Konyakhin, Mayer, and Oblogov. The acquired results demonstrate that the values of winter-average and January-average temperatures in reconstruction by Vasilchuk’s ratio always fall within the reliability interval in the entire modern temperature range. Testing the current temperature using regression equations often determine a considerable deviation (often within 3-4°C) from the actual values of winter-average and January-average temperatures.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.3.38555

EDN: JHLNJJ

Abstract: The purpose of this work was to determine the range of changes in the Fourier criterion (number) when predicting the thermal regime of dispersed rocks in thawed and frozen state. And, also an assessment of the possibility of averaging the thermophysical characteristics of rocks to obtain universal values of Fourier numbers. To achieve this goal, an assessment of the influence of the thermophysical properties of dispersed rocks on the range of changes in the values of the Fourier number used in thermal calculations of technical objects of the cryolithozone is made. The calculation formulas took into account the functional dependence of the coefficient of thermal conductivity, density and specific heat capacity of rocks on humidity (iciness) in the thawed and frozen state. As an example, a mixture of quartz sandstone with water in a thawed and frozen state is considered when the ice content changes from zero (dry quartz sandstone) to full moisture saturation. It is established that the range and nature of the change in Fourier numbers for thawed and frozen dispersed rocks, depending on their humidity (iciness), differs significantly, not only quantitatively, but also qualitatively: for thawed dispersed rocks, the Fourier number decreases with increasing humidity, and for frozen rocks increases. The possibility of averaging the thermophysical characteristics of rocks to obtain universal values of Fourier numbers has been evaluated. It is shown that the use of universal Fourier numbers leads to a significant error for both thawed and frozen rocks and their use in thermal calculations with annual temperature fluctuations is impractical.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.4.39279

EDN: UWMRZU

Abstract: This paper presents brief results of studying the cryosphere of the Zeravshan and Hissar Ranges. At the same time, the rate of change in the area of glaciers over the past almost one hundred years and the presence and degradation of permafrost during this time were considered. The actual description of the numerical method for estimating the depth of soil freezing based on data on the thickness of the snow cover and air temperature was also given. An example of using this numerical method for estimating the depth of soil freezing on the slopes was given to map the cryolithozone of the Zeravshan and Hissar Ranges. According to the calculations, the ground under the snow cover remains frozen on the Anzob Pass from December to April. The power of the accumulated snow cover can reach one and a half meters or more. At the same time, the soil under the snow-covered surface freezes, according to calculations, by an average of 1.5 m. Thus, the proposed method for calculating the dynamics of the depth of soil freezing based on air temperature data and snow cover thickness made it possible to assess soil freezing as a factor of soil stability during the construction of village and avalanche protection structures. Thus, the Anzob Pass belongs to an area of seasonal freezing of rocks. Considering the gradient of the average annual temperature of rocks, we can conclude that permafrost rocks on the Hissar Range can be expected at altitudes of more than 4,000 meters.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2023.2.40424

EDN: RIUBCY

Abstract: The research method is a purposeful petrophysical interpretation of the gravitational field. The object under study appeared during prospecting geological and geophysical work as a hindrance to the solution of the main geological problem. Its density is 1 g/cm3, the height of the sole is 35 m, the area is 1420 km2, the volume is 20 km3. The object is defined as an abnormally light Ice Complex (ALIC). The revealed density is explained by peat-ice performance. In ALIC, a near-surface lenticular-layered formation ice has been uncovered, the structure of which indicates the generation of the mass of the complex ahead of sedimentation. The gravimetric data, the landscape and the details of the ALIC structure are interconnected and make up the first — the most complete view of the complex at the moment. The main elements of the presentation are the three phases of the development of the complex. The first is classical, generally accepted for polygonal—vein structures, the second differs from the classical one by the absence of frost-breaking cracking, the third is the growth of formation ice. The qualitative difference of the thermophysical components of the cryolithozone of the territory is given, which made it possible to introduce several concepts concerning the generation of peat-ice mass ALIC. Such as: heat dissipation capacity of the middle layer, stabilization of the zero isotherm at the petrophysical boundary; conditions for the beginning of the growth of lenticular-layered ice; accelerated lateral segregation growth of powerful ice veins; constancy of the thermal resistance of the cryolithozone. On the basis of these concepts, models of the development of the second and third phases of ALIC are compiled, and a view on the theory of the formation of cover glaciers is formed, which follows from the model of the third phase. The novelty of the research consists: in identifying a unique petrophysical object, in defining this object as ALIC, in identifying an ice massif on the territory of ALIC, in presenting the development of the complex as a sequence of three phases, in compiling models of the second and third phases of ALIC and in an original approach to the formation of cover glaciers.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.3.38834

EDN: JICZQM

Abstract: Palsas and peat plateaus have an important role in the bio- and geodiversity of Northern environments. The peat of the palsa is an archive of geochemical and biochemical conditions of high quality. The palsa peat bog of Eletsky was studied in the north-east of the Bolshezemelskaya tundra (67°16′ N, 63°39′ E). Palsa of 1.5 to 4 m height were studied in detail. The content of carbon and nitrogen in the peat has been determined, as well as the isotopic composition of carbon. The analysis of the carbon and nitrogen content in plants growing both on the surface of the heave mounds and in the depressions between the mounds was carried out. Variations in C/N values indicate changes in the peat moor humidification regime and the rate of peat decomposition. The results obtained indicate a high degree of watering of the Eletsky massif as a whole during the accumulation of peat and mainly anaerobic conditions of its decomposition. It was found that the change of plant associations also affected the value of C/N. Studies of the Eletsky palsa peat bog have shown that the isotopic composition of carbon is determined primarily by the botanical composition of plant remains. New ecological niches are formed in the process of palsa growth, some plant communities are replaced by others. There was not detected difference of the isotopic composition of thawed and frozen peat.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.4.25094

Abstract: The subject of this research is the natural explosive processes into cryolithic zones. The object of this research is the Yamal Crater. The authors meticulously examine the groups of the natural explosive processes in the territory of distribution of permafrost. A new approach towards the theory of the crater of gaseous discharge is proposed. It is based on the migration mechanism of gas fluids from the zones of gas hydrates disassociation into the overlying thickness of permafrost. The dissociation zone forms in segments of the local heatup through the heat input from the top. The authors demonstrate the gradualism of processes of preparing the explosive process that formed the Yamal Crater, as well as calculate the pressure of ejection of the frozen layer in emergence of the Yamal Crater. The work provides characteristic to the four phases of preparation of the natural explosive processes, considers various scenarios of such in cryolithic zone, as well as creation of the model of the heat and mass transfer processes alongside tense and distorted situation in permafrost that contain gas hydrated in terms of temperature variation and pressure. The following conclusions were made: the explosions of hydrolaccoliths and emergence of the craters of gaseous discharge belong to the same group of processes – physical explosions of natural origin; preparation of explosive processes in permafrost passes through several stages; in preparing explosions of natural origin in permafrost, a significant role is played by the migration of gas fluids.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.1.29119

Abstract: The goal of this research lies in examination of the possibility of application of the structurally paragenetic method as a methodological direction in studying permafrost formations; as well as in formulation of the theoretical principles for studying cryogenic formations on the basis of paragenetic approach. For achieving the set objective, the author substantiated the provisions on the necessity of using paragenetic constructs in geocryology; justifies the insufficiency of genetic approach in analyzing the emergence of cryogenic formations; considers the possibility of using the structural paragenetic analysis to restore the geodynamic conditions of emergence of the various cryogenic formations; presents classification of different parageneses of the various cryogenic formations occurrent in the cryolithozone. As a result of this research, the author was able to demonstrate the need for shifting from the genetic method of studying of permafrost formation towards the structural-paragenetic method. The main conclusion lies in the statement that cryogenic geosystems of any rank represent the patterned paragenetic complexes that reflect both, the ongoing processes in emergence of permafrost formation, as well as in the already formed frozen arrays. The article examines the already existing genetic classification of the genetic types of subsurface ice sheets; substantiates the application of paragenetic approach in studying the subsurface ice sheets; develops the basic framework of structura-paragenetic method that views permafrost formations as the hierarchically arranged cryogenic geosystems, consisting of the paragenetically connected associations and structural elements.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2020.4.33717

Abstract: In the structure of the frozen thickness of the 2nd lake-alluvial terrace of the Gyda River were detected polygonal-wedge, lens massive and lensoid ice were. A detailed analysis of structural and textural peculiarities in the layers was carried out for the first time for these morphological types of underground ice. Based on the cryolithological structure of host rocks and structural-textural features of ice, the main mechanisms of deposit formation – polygonal-wedge, infiltration-segregational, and congelation were determined. The development of polygonal-wedge ice occurred in an alluvial floodplain setting of sedimentation accompanied by the climate fluctuations in the end of the Late Pleistocene and Holocene. The growth of ice wedge in the second half of the Sartan Period was interrupted under the reservoirs with shallow talik waters, after freezing of which there formed infiltration-segregational lensoid formation ices. The structure of frozen thickness was complicated by the lenses of congelation ice formed in thermoerosive niches in the Holocene optimum of about 6.5 thousand years ago. At the present time is possible the formation of similar types of ice on various sections of the relief. The established peculiarities of cryogenic structure are important for the creation of paleogeographic reconstructions and forecasting the dynamics of permafrost-facies environments accompanied by the modern changes in the depth of the seasonal thaw layer and the development of thermokarst.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.4.36787

Abstract: The object of this research is the reconstruction of the climatic conditions of the Late Pleistocene summer seasons based on the pollen spectra of syngenetic ice wedges and inclosing Yedoma deposits. For quantitative assessment of summer temperatures and phenological relationships, the author applies the total annual thaw index, since namely the sum of positive temperatures is the only indicator that determines the beginning of pollen emission in majority of plant species. The relationship between the composition of pollen spectra and the total annual thaw index is deterministic, although it cannot be formulated strictly mathematically. Yedoma is a unique object for research by many parameters, which allows acquiring paleogeographic information on two components, such as ice wedges and deposits, because the accumulation of pollen and spores occurs differently therein. The structure of vegetation cover during the accumulation of Yedoma deposits during the Late Pleistocene differed significantly from the Holocene and modern periods, which is recorded in the pollen spectra of syngenetic deposits and ice wedges. It is established that in certain periods, the diversity of species of Late Pleistocene vegetation was higher compared to modern vegetation of tundra and forest tundra due to the large number of ecological niches and peculiarity of temperature regime of the summer season.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.4.28583

Abstract: The object of this research is the organic-mineral deposits of the Late Pleistocene polygonal ice-wedge complex. They are studied in the outcrop of the second terrace, located on the left bank of the Mongatalyangyakha River, 3 km west of the estuary (71 ° 58'60 "N, 75 ° 16'0" E), on the Yavay Peninsula in the north of the Gydan Peninsula. The botanical composition of allochthonous peat in the upper part of the section is dominated by the remnants of Ledum palustre, and in the organic-mineral sediment the remains of Drepanoladus fluitans, Calliergonella cuspidata (or Calliergon cordifolium) are prevalent. A field outcrop study was performed; three wells were drilled. Palynological and hydrochemical diagrams were constructed and the radiocarbon age of the Late Pleistocene polygonal massif was determined. The main conclusions of the study are: 1. The age of the organic-mineral deposits varies from 30,200 to 21,900 years BP. 2. The rate of accumulation of organic-mineral deposits in the Karginsky time at the mouth of the Mongatalyangyakha River is about 0.25mm/year. 3. According to the palynological analysis, three local pollen zones are distinguished.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.3.29627

Abstract: The object of this research is the problem of gas filtration in permafrost formations. Currently, geocryology identifies the movement capability of gas fluids is only within the thawed formations. The subject of this study is the processes substantiating and accompanying redistribution of gas in the gas emission craters, as well as in the samples of artificial ice exposed to gas pressure. The authors examine the summarized data on the structure of craters and conditions for their emergence such as: the zones of accumulation of subterranean gas with abnormally high pressure in the permafrost strata; filtration of gas into high-temperature frozen rocks and subsurface ice; formation of gas-saturated ice soil rods and their explosive destruction. Particular attention is turned to the laboratory examination of gas filtration in frozen rocks and ice. The main research method became the comparative data analysis on the changes of properties of the frozen soils and ice as they war up within negative temperatures. Exploring the samples of ice exposed to gas pressure, the authors apply the methods of textural and structural studies in the passing, reflected and polarize light. It is established that the frozen rocks and subsurface ice allow gas filtration in the conditions of forming the corresponding ratio of characteristics of the rocks (strength, deformative, structural) that depend on their temperature and pressure of the underlying soil gas. It is revealed that the aforementioned ratio is determined by the geological, landscape and climatic conditions. With the help of structural studies, the authors are first to describe the processes accompanying gas filtration within ice in the laboratory conditions.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.4.31391

Abstract: The subject of this research is the variation of deuterium isotopes and values of deuterium excess in recent growing ice wedges, with age of about 100 years, penetrating into growing ice wedges on the territory of the Russian permafrost. Variations of oxygen isotopes in recent growing ice wedges were previously studied in more detail. The joint determination of the isotope-oxygen and isotope-hydrogen composition will allow considering the additional cryogenic fractionation during ice vein growth in frost cracks. The main approach to the study is field sampling of recent ice veins that usually occur under interpolygonal wedge. The authors obtained new results of isotope data for recent growing ice wedges on the coast of the Chukotka Peninsula and summarized data from publications of the last 15-20 years. The main conclusion of the study is the confirmation of the predominantly atmospheric origin of moisture filling frost cracks. Another important conclusion is the fact that limited cryogenic fractionation usually accompanies the freezing of melted snow after it fills the frost crack.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.3.36636

Abstract: The subject of this research is the ratio of isotopic parameters of deuterium of heavy oxygen in ice wedges. The authors considered such parameter as inclination of the line of the ration of deuterium of heavy oxygen in ice wedges. Proximal to GMLV (or LLMV) position of isotope values for ice wedge and inclination of the line proximate to 8 suggests that the ice wedge was formed from atmospheric precipitation (winter snow). The article provides separate examples of anomalous deuterium ratios of heavy oxygen with very low ration of line inclination, which in combination with the abnormally low dexc values indicate the indicate isotopic fractionation processes in snow before melting and/or melting snow water before filling frost-cutting cracks. Three author determines the three main types of ratios of deuterium m of heavy oxygen content in ice wedge: a) normal ratio δ2H-δ18O (with line inclination of the ratio proximate to GLMV or LLMW). b) ratio of deuterium  of heavy oxygen to deviation from GLMV or LLMW (with signs of change in the primary isotope signal of atmospheric precipitation), c) anomalous ratio of deuterium of heavy oxygen. It is shown that the first two types  are characteristic to most ice wedge under study in the vast part of the Russian cryolithozone from the European North to the east of Chukotka; the third type is obtained for several Holocene ice wedge in Transbaikal and upper Yenisei River. This may be explained by significant isotope transformation of snow cover in the conditions of distinctly continental climate.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.2.25809

Abstract: The object of this research is the synchrogenic sands that developed in the Russian territories. They are present in the coastal areas of the young Timan-Pechora basub and Pai-Khoi, north of the young West Siberian and Yano-Kolyma platforms, north and the center of the ancient Siberian platform; young Verkhoyano-Chukotka and ancient Baikal-Patomsk orogens, the upper zone of the ancient Altai-Sayan orogen, present riftogene Baikal as well as on some islands of the Arctic shelf. A schematic map of the extent of different genesis Quaternary sands within the cryolithozone of Russia is compiled. The main regularities of the spatial distribution syncryogenic sands have been identified on this basis and by analysis and synthesis of existing publications on the topic. Most often syncryogenic sands are part of Upper Pleistocene-Holocene complexes of marine, marine deltaic and alluvial genesis, rarely lacustrine and alluvial, glaciolacustrine, glaciofluvial and eolian. Additionally, more ancient Middle Pleistocene-Holocene formations on the West Siberian and Yano-Kolyma platforms and Early Pleistocene-Holocene on the Siberian platform are exposed. Syncryogenic sands occur in the upper part of the section of different geomorphic elements and often overlain epicryogenic one.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.2.38390

EDN: ELRQWA

Abstract: The subject of the study is a new formal subdivision of Holocene epoch applied to the northern regions of the Russian permafrost. The following criteria are considered: criteria for the modern allocation of three calendar periods of the Holocene; comparison with the Blitt-Sernander scheme; comparison with the three-term division of the Holocene for the Russian Arctic, proposed by Yu.K.Vasilchuk. In 2008, the International Commission on Stratigraphy (IUGS) established the boundary between the Holocene and the Neo-Pleistocene at the turn of about 11,700 calibrated years ago (cal. l. n.). In 2018, in addition to the well-known Blitt-Sernander division, the Holocene was divided by IUGS into three tiers: Greenland (from 11,700 to 8,200 cal. years ago), North Grippian (from 8200 to 4200 cal. years ago) and Meghalayan (beginning 4200 cal. years ago). The features of the development of polygonal vein arrays during three Holocene periods were established and the average January air temperatures for four key regions of the Russian cryolithozone were reconstructed - the north of the European part of Russia, the north of Western Siberia, the lower reaches of the Kolyma River and the east of Chukotka. It is shown that, taking into account the new division of the Holocene, the Greenland and North Grippian periods of the Holocene (between 11.7 and 4.2 thousand years ago) are the stage of the most active development of peat bogs and the simultaneous formation of re–vein ice in them. The Meghalayan Holocene period was characterized by a marked decrease in the development of peatlands, but syngenetic growth of re-vein ice continued within the emerging floodplains and laids, especially within the torn-off areas. The reconstructed average January air temperatures for four key regions of the Russian cryolithozone showed that the Greenland and North Grippian periods of the Holocene were characterized by slightly higher values (on average 1-2 °C higher) than the Meghalayan, with the exception of eastern Chukotka, for which an increase in the average January air temperature during the Meghalayan period was noted.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2020.1.32283

Abstract: Massive ice is widespread on the territory of modern of Eurasian permafrost area: in the north of Western Siberia, Taimyr, Chukotka, and Arctic islands. Their thickness reaches 45-50m. The origin of massive ice is difficult to define due to the equifinality of such two different processes as intrasedimental freezing and formation of glacial ice. In both cases, thick massive ice is formed in various ways, but with the same final appearance. Three important aspects that show the evidence of the intrasedimental origin of massive ice in the north of Eurasia are examined. At first glance, they are obvious, but still fell out of sight of paleogeocryologists. It is shown that: 1) Any currently existing Late Pleistocene glacier, or part of it located under Holocene ice, have not yet been found within the Eurasian Arctic or on the Arctic islands with ice sheets, nor in the mountainous regions. 2) The isotopic composition of the vast majority of massive ice found in northern Eurasia is quite "Holocene", whereas in the north of Canada and Alaska, ice with a very light isotopic composition can often be found. 3) It should be taken into account that massive ice is found in the Holocene sediments of Western Siberia and Chukotka, where there is no reason to assume the glaciers spread to the plains.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2023.3.43985

EDN: VKICUS

Abstract: The purpose of the paper is to establish the range of variability of mineralization and ionic composition of water-soluble salts in ice wedges of different ages near the Seyakha village (Eastern Yamal Peninsula) in outcrops of the river floodplain, Holocene peat bog and yedoma, as well as to establish the contribution of atmospheric nutrition of ice wedge and structure-forming ice. In the ice wedge of the yedoma the total mineralization is very variable from 17 to 309 mg/l, which indicates the participation of Ob Bay waters in addition to atmospheric waters. Sometimes there is a noticeable presence of sea salts in the sediments of the floodplain at the mouth of the river, associated with the influx of Ob Bay waters during surge surges of the bay level in the mouth of the river. It has been revealed a noticeable change of the mineralization of structure-forming ice in the Holocene peat, its regular gradual decrease from bottom to top is from 576 to 18 mg/l. This indicates that the reason of the lacustrine-marsh basin (or rather, several small basins) formation was the thawing of large masses of highly mineralized segregated and pore ice contained in the upper part of the lagoon-marine terrace. As the peat bog accumulated, the role of atmospheric precipitation increased, and in the final phase of ice formation in the upper part of the peat, atmospheric precipitation completely dominated.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2020.3.33535

Abstract: This article examines the questions of assessment of the state and dynamics of frozen rocks in the conditions of changing climate on the territory of Tien Shan. The consists in evaluation of geocryological conditions of frozen rocks in Northern and South-Western Tien Shan regions in accordance with the data of regime observations conducted by authors on the equipped stationary sites of high altitude mountain passes. The article provides the results of a set of methods of geocryological and geophysical research, including drilling of engineering-geocryological wells with sampling and determination of the structure and composition of soils, thermometry in wells, geophysical profiling with construction of geoelectric sections. The proposed set of geophysical methods allows stratifying the section, obtain the boundaries of thawed and frozen rocks, as well as follow the dynamics of dangerous cryogenic processes. The geophysical TEM method for work in the mountains features a number of advantages –  the absence of galvanic grounding, mobility of installation, determination in addition to the characteristics of the rock resistance, polarization, the high values of which (according to laboratory data) indicate the presence of ice. The importance of direct observations and geocryological monitoring is emphasized, since in the zones of proliferation of high altitude permafrost, climate warming can lead to the activation of catastrophic processes such as mudflows, outbursts of glacial mountain lakes, landslides, thermal erosion, and thermokarst. Therefore, constant monitoring of the glacial zone is necessary for determination of the new and assessment of the state of the existing foci of hazardous exogenous geological processes. 

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.1.32985

Abstract: The pollen characteristics of the Zelyony Mys yedoma record cyclical changes in vegetation cover, both on a local and regional scale. There are three local pollen zones such as: Varia +Artemisia, Varia + Selaginella sibirica, and Pinus + Betula sect. Nanae. Pollen spectra reflect open landscapes of mosaic hypo-arctic tundra. Some local pollen zones in the ice wedges correspond to the local pollen zones of yedoma: Varia + Selaginella sibirica dates from 41.9-33.8 CalBP, Pinus + Betula sect. Nanae (P+B) is approximately dated to 33.5-30 CalBP. Reconstruction of the annual thawing index showed several fluctuations: two short-term periods of significant deterioration of vegetation conditions (annual thawing index was about 200-300 deg. × days, about 46, 34-33 CalBP), and two periods of improvement of vegetation conditions 45-43 and 32 CalBP (annual thawing index was about 600-750 deg. x days). Regional pollen in burrows is the same in synchronous horizons of yedoma. Noticeable amount of larch pollen (10%) in the fossil burrows in the Zelyony Mys yedoma showed that favorable conditions are created in the burrows for the preservation of larch pollen. The seeds found in minks reflect animal dietary preferences and only partlially local vegetation around minks. Reconstruction of positive temperature sums indicates the palinospectra reflect three-fold fluctuations of vegetation conditions: two short periods of substantial deterioration of vegetation conditions (the sum of positive temperatures is about 200-300 degrees x days), about 46, 34-33 thousand years (and two periods of improvement of vegetation conditions 45-43 thousand years (sum of positive temperatures about 600 degrees x days) and 32 thousand years (sum of positive temperatures about 750 degrees x days).

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.2.35500

Abstract: The subject of this research is the cryogenic formations found in gas emission funnels in the north of Western Siberia. The object of this research is cryogenic processes that prepare the explosion, which forms a gas emission funnel. The study of cryogenic structures that shape the walls of gas emission funnels is based on the structural-genetic analysis, which reveals the peculiarities of the initial cryogenic structure of frozen rock, as well as the cryogenic textures modified as a result of dynamic metamorphism. The authors examine such aspects of the topic as the general orientation of plastic and explosive deformations under the influence of high pressure. Analysis is conducted on the role of intra-ground gas filtration in transformation of the initial cryogenic structure. Special attention is given to the patterns of emergence and development of the local geodynamic system that ultimately substantiates the formation of gas emission funnel. The novelty of this research consists in the establishment of paragenetic relations between the processes of gas filtration and deformations of gas-saturated ice surface material (from viscoplastic motion to brittle fracture). The main conclusions are as follows: such external influences as increase in the temperature or pressure change thermodynamic conditions, which lead to multi-phase structural transformation of the initial cryogenic structure of the cryolithic zone; a series of plastic and explosive deformations instigates the intense heat and mass transfer, redistributing the substance in the liquid, solid and gaseous state; in frozen rocks, ice is the most deformable component, thus, most information on the processes preceding the formation of gas funnels can be acquired by studying the morphology of cryogenic formations observed in the walls of the funnels, as well as in the unthawed fragments of frozen rocks thrown to the surface. The authors’ special contribution lies in examination of the complete lifecycle of the development of selected geosystems, from the initial stage –  formation of conditions for decomposition of the gas hydrates, to the final stage – explosion and emission of ice surface material.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.2.26725

Abstract: The two outcrops of Holocene peat with ice wedges in the mouth of Salemlekabtambda River in the Mammoth Peninsula are the object of the study, such as Holocene peat in the bog meadow of Kara Sea and the peat inset in the 15 m terrace. Ice wedges occur in the meadow bog sediments, their height is about 1.5 m. The height of ice wedges in the terrace sediments is about 4.5 m. We studied pollen spectra both, in the ice wedges and their host sediments, as well as determined isotope composition of ice wedges. Series of 14C ages have been obtained. The obtained isotopic and pollen data demonstrate that in the North of the Gydan Peninsula the Holocene optimum was the time of increase of climate continentality. Summer was warmer by 1-3°C than today, and winter was by 2-3°C colder. The intensity of frost cracking and ice wedge formation increased both in organic and mineral alluvial and alluvial-marine sediments.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.3.24432

Abstract: The object of the study is the palsa located near Abez' settlement, in the Komi Republic, the northeast of European Russia. The authors re-examined the palsa in 2001, 2016 and 2017. The main research methods were: scrutinous fixation of the palsa morphology and its comparison with the photographs of different years; radiocarbon dating of peat; study of stable carbon isotopes in peat profiles. In 15 years' time, almost complete degradation of the palsa is observed. The height of the palsa has reduced by more than 2 m. Now their height does not exceed 1.5 m. During the period of 1960-2015, the average annual air temperature at nearby meteorological stations had been increasing by 2° C averagely. The most probable reason for the rapid degradation of the palsa in the area of Abez' settlement is a combination of a positive climatic trend and significant draining of the lake-marsh basin as a result of the construction of the Bovanenkovo-Ukhta gas pipeline, which crosses the southern part of the palsa. It is shown that the palsa in the southern regions - in the area of the Bugry Polyarnye and Nikita stations - have no signs of degradation.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.4.28528

Abstract: The article presents preliminary results of field studies of the outcrops of the eastern coast of the Chukchi Peninsula, containing massive ice beds. The expeditions were conducted in 2014–2018. Descriptions and photographs of ice and enclosing sediments are given. Four outcrops of ice up to 4.7 m thick and up to 45 m long are described within the Saint Lawrence Bay and Mechigmensky Bay. The morphology of the massive ice bodies, a variety of ice structures and host sediments allow suggesting their polygenetic origin. The results of long-term active layer thickness monitoring indicated that the intensification of thaw slump events in the past four years is associated with the increase in the depth of thawing, which in 2018 reached highest values in over two decades. The formation of thaw slumps and associated thermocirques is cyclic. As the active layer thickness increases, their number increases, forming nested thermocirques, and as the thaw depth decreases, cryogenic creep slows down.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2020.4.34659

Abstract: The research is conducted on the Holocene ice wedges exposed in the outcrop of the first marine terrace near the town of Anadyr, on the east of the Chukchi Peninsula, on the coast of Onemen Bay. Polygonal Relief is clearly traced on the surface of the first sea terrace in the area of explorations, the size of the polygons is about 8x12 m. In the exposed terrace, turf with a capacity of about 1.5 m is striped, underlied with sand clay with  capacity up to 2 m; below is the horizontally-stratified and. Ice wedges are embedded the turf (head of wedges) and in the underlying clay sand. The ice of wedges is vertically stratifies, yellowish gray. Ice wedges are also striped in turf  outcrops with capacity of up to 2.5 m, embedded in form of a lens from the terrace surface. Ice from three most fully exposed ice wedges was sampled for hydrochemical analysis. A total of 20 ice samples were collected from Holocene ice wedges, as well as ice from modern ice veinlet and water from Onemen Bay. It was found that mineralization of the studied Holocene ice wedges is low, does not exceed 80 mg/L, Na+, Ca2+, and Cl- dominate. Similar values of mineralization and ionic composition were obtained for modern ice veinlet. The obtained data correspond with data on ice wedges studied in other regions of Chukotka, both continental and coastal. Mineralization of most of the previously studied ice wedges did not exceed 150 mg/L. Low values of mineralization of ice wedges near Anadyr demonstrate mainly meteoric source of water forming ice, i.e. winter precipitation, prevalence of sodium and chlorine indicates the capture of sea aerosols by precipitation or wind introduction of droplets from the water area of the Onemen Bay to the surface of the snow cover.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.4.37225

Abstract: Massive ice beds are unique natural formations of cryolithozone, as well as important objects of research in the area of reconstruction of paleogeographic conditions and solution of the tasks of engineering geology. On the plains of Chukchi Peninsula, massive ice beds are common and represent regional geological peculiarity. The article traces the dynamics of recession of the edge of thermocirque and the evolution of the morphology of ice bed outcrop in 7 km south of the village of Lavrentia (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug) over the period from 2018 to 2021. The results of field observations indicate the active development of thermocirque over 4 years: its back wall in both corridors receded by 50-60 meters, increasing the area of the thermocirque by 3-4 times. The shape of the outcropping massive ice bed changed over time: in 2018, its main part was exposed in the northern part, in subsequent years, the bed was outcropped mainly in the northern part from the side of the deposits remnant (southern side) and in the southern part. The width of the bed varied from 5 m in 2018 to 15-20 m in 2019 and 2021. The ice thickness also varied in the northern part of the thermocirque from 2 m in 2018 to 6 m in 2019, while in the southern corridor it remained stable in 2020-2021 (about 5 m). A hypothesis has been put forward on the mechanism and time of ice bed formation. The acquired results suggest that the ice bed may have heterogeneous segregation-injectional genesis. It is revealed that the ice bed under review is part of a larger ice body and was outcropped as a result of the cyclic fluctuations of climatic characteristics that determine the depth of seasonal thawing of the soil.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.4.31645

Abstract: A review of published isotopic data on Yamal Peninsula massive ice near Marre-Sale polar station showed that there is a number of difficulties in indicating the genesis of the ice formation. The published data of δ18Î and δ2Í of sea water in the Yamal Peninsula coast are disconnect to idea of participation of this sea water as a water source for ice formation. Comparison with the correct δ18Î and δ2Í values of waters of the Barents Sea made it possible to establish the process of mixing seawater with isotopically light precipitation and showed that seawater was involved in the formation of ice. Another difficulty was the erroneous idea of ice formation in a closed system. Formation of ice occurred in an open system with a large amount of free water. Massive ice was most likely formed at the clay-sand boundary from free water, which in large quantities entered the sandy aquifer from lake talik. The water in the lake at the first stage was a mixture of sea and atmospheric waters, and then it was desalinated. The process of desalination and isotope depletion of lake water is responsible for a decrease in the δ18Î and δ2Í values of ice with depth.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.2.22980

Abstract: The Chukchi Peninsula or Chukotka Peninsula at about 66° N 172° W, is the eastmost peninsula of Asia. Its eastern end is at Cape Dezhnev near the village of Uelen. It is bordered by the Chukchi Sea to the north, the Bering Sea to the south, and the Bering Strait to the east. Most of the Chukchi Peninsula is occupied by highlands up to 1000 m a.s.l height. Lowlands are found, as a rule, near large lagoons. The main features of the area (from Anadyr' town to Lavrentiya) are represented by a slightly hilly relief formed by fluvial erosion and marine abrasion of the Mesozoic blocks. For the determination of the ion composition of ice wedges, ice samples were taken both horizontally with an interval of 10-12 cm and vertically with an interval of 10-15 cm. The ion composition of the ice was analyzed by ion chromatography method in the geochemistry laboratory of the Department of Landscape Geochemistry and Soil Geography of the Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov Moscow State University on the ion chromatograph "Stayer". The detection limit for chloride ion was 0.02 mg / l. The hydrochemical composition of snow, rivers and lakes water, segregated ice and partly of ice wedges was carried out in the hydrochemical laboratory of PNIIIS by acid-base titration. Continuous permafrost occurs everywhere beneath the ground surface. Taliks (up to 30-40 m thick) often occur underneath the largest thermokarst lakes and in the and under the lower reaches of large rivers. The temperature of the permafrost averages -10 ° C in the axial parts of the mountain ridges and -4 ... -6 ° C in river valleys and on the coasts. The thickness of the permafrost varies from 500-700 m in the highest parts of the ridges to 200-300 m in the interior valleys.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.2.29667

Abstract: The subject of the study is the cyclicality of the yedoma strata in the Mayn River valley of Southern Chukotka. The author explores the Late Pleistocene syngenetic strata containing syngenetic ice wedges in the Mayn River valley of Southern Chukotka: lacustrine and lacustrine-alluvial sediments in the Ledovy exposure outcrop, and lacustrine-alluvial sediments of the Ust’-Algan exposure. These strata are located close to each other, and formed with the diverse in lithological composition and facies sendiments: from coarse sand with pebble of river facies to silty facies, permeated with thick ice wedges of different configurations. The main research method is the field study of cryolithological structure of the natural exposures. The author also examines the radiocarbon age of the strata of the wedges, the oxygen-isotope and hydrochemical composition of ice wedges. The following conclusions were made:1. The hierarchy of the main types of cyclicity, observed in the studied syncryogenic strata is clarified;2. The duration of micro-, meso- and macro-cycles in formation of the yedoma strata of the Main River valley is determined- cyclite polygonal ice wedges in the section of lacustrine strata of the Ledovy exposure- heterocyclic polygonal ice wedges of in the section of lacustrine-alluvial yedoma of Ledovy exposure- heterocyclitic polygonal ice wedges in the  section of Ust’-Algan exposure.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2020.2.32917

Abstract: This article demonstrates the evolution of representation on syngenetic formation of frozen strata set by Lopatin, Abolin, Leffingwell and Nekipelov. It is underlined that the theory of syngenesis is substantiated by the works of Gallwitz, Popov and Katasonov. It is mentioned that Dostovalov proposed a method for approximate determination of the age of ice-wedge ice and calculated that 3m wide ice wedges in the vicinity of Abalakh Lake are older than 2160 years, and 30-40 m high ice wedges in the Novosibirsk islands are older than 12,000 years according to Dostovalov’s calculations. The subject of the detailed study is the meso- and macro- cycles in the structure of yedoma strata in Northern Yakutia. Mesocycles in the yedoma strata of the Zelyony Mys, Stanchikovsky Yar, and Batagay have been examined, along with macrocycles of the Batagay yedoma. The mesocyclicity of the cryolithogenic strata is analyzed in the following cross sections: in Bolshoy Lyakhovsky Island, yedoma in the Belyanka River valley, in the outcrop Soplivaya Gora in the Yana River valley, in the valley of the Vilyuy River downstream of Verkhnevilyuysk, etc. The duration of the mesocycles formation in the yedoma strata of the Northern Yakutia is established: a. One subaquatic-subaerial mesocycle in the Zelyony Mys yedoma consisting of a subaquatic sandy loam and a subaerial peaty horizon of 4 m thick accumulated over the period 3,000years. b. One subaquatic-subaerial mesocycle in the Stanchikovsky Yar yedoma 5 m thick accumulated over the period of 3,300 years. c. One mesocycle in the section Soplivaya Gora, in the Yana River valley with a capacity of 3 m formed for about 3.000 years. Three macrocycles are identified in the Batagay section, with capacity of 7, 10 and 40 m; the time of formation of each macrocycle varied from 15-20 to 40 thousand years or more.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2023.2.40971

EDN: HFYHKS

Abstract: The first decade of the 21st century in the study of yedoma marked by the widespread use of AMS radiocarbon dating on microinclusions extracted directly from the ice wedge. These studies, together with a detailed study of stable isotope composition, were carried out at Lomonosov Moscow State University (Yu. Vasil'chuk and A. Vasil'chuk) on yedoma sections of Western Siberia, the lower Kolyma, Central Yakutia, together with specialists in the radiocarbon dating: J. van der Plicht, J.-Ch. Kim, H. Jungner, L.Sulerzhitsky. Isotope study of Yedoma sections on the right bank of the Yenisei Bay was begun (A.Vasiliev, E.Gusev, I.Streletskaya and others). During this period, active isotope and radiocarbon studies of yedoma began by the participants of the Russian-German expedition (A.Andreev, A.Chizhov, A. Derevyagin, G.Grosse, H.-W.Hubberten, L. Schirrmeister, S. Wetterich etc.) in the Anzhu Islands, the Lena Delta, and Arctic coast of Western Yakutia. In Chukotka, yedoma was studied by researches of the Anadyr station (A.Kotov). Researchers from the University of Fairbanks (M.Kanevsky, Yu.Shur, H.French, M. Bray and others) continued to study the Fox Tunnel as well as northern Alaska yedoma. Radiocarbon dating, the study of mammoth fauna, and stable isotopes were started by Canadian scientists (C. Burn, D.Froese, G. Zazula and others) on the Yukon yedoma. The study of Paleolithic sites in the yedoma sections were started of the Yana River and the New Siberian Islands (V. Pitulko, E. Pavlova etc.)

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2020.1.32242

Abstract: Massive ice, located at different depths in the permafrost of the Kharasavey gas condensate field, many massive ice formations occurred in different forms such as layers, lenses and laccoliths. Massive ice near the Kharasavey village was repeatedly studied and tested in detail, and ice formations were found both within the first sea terrace and within the third sea terrace. The isotopic and chemical composition of massive ice can be explained by different ways. We believe that it indicates intrasedimental formation of massive ice. This study is based on data on the values of δ18Î, δ2H and dexc in massive ice, as well as the chemical composition of the ice to establish possible conditions for the massive ice formation. Geochemical studies of sediments within the coastal areas of the Kharasavey showed that variability in the distribution of salts in sediments reaches a maximum here, especially in the transition zone from sea to land. The isotopic and chemical characteristics of the ice indicate that ice had been formed in an open system (i.e., with free flow of water from the reservoir). At the same time, the water in the reservoir was changed; at the first stages, it was most likely a mixture of sea and fresh water, which was subsequently desalinated more and more.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.3.38895

EDN: JIITKC

Abstract: The main purpose of the paper is to create an optimal strategy for field testing of wedge ice for isotope and radiocarbon analyses. The scientific significance of this task is the need for a detailed isotopic characterization of well-dated sections with ice wedges. The solution of this problem will allow us to obtain a complete isotopic and paleotemperature scenario for the Holocene and the late Pleistocene in the north of Western Siberia, northern and central Yakutia, Chukotka, and the Arctic islands. Reliable ranges of isotopic composition values will be obtained as a result of the application of an improved method of wedge ice sampling. It will give a complete picture of isotopic variations in ice wedges during a certain period of its formation in combination with the age setting of the obtained isotope data. The main provisions of the optimal strategy for field testing of wedge ice for isotope and radiocarbon analyses are formulated. The innovativeness of the proposed technique consists in comparing of oxygen isotope and deuterium curves obtained from two parallel and quasi-synchronous ice wedges exposed by a single outcrop in the yedoma and Holocene deposits. Previously, it was believed that the sampling from different ice wedges in the single outcrop would give the same results. The preliminary studies carried out by the author show that this is not always the case. At the same depths, both identical and noticeably different isotopic determinations were obtained from samples from neighboring ice wedges. Predominantly horizontal sampling from ice wedges in yedoma deposits should still be referred to as an insufficiently developed procedure, it should be supplemented by vertical sampling from ice wedges. It is possible to develop criteria for excluding older 14Ñ dates due to admixture of allochthonous organic material as inversions with vertical sampling only. This is impossible using horizontal sampling.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.2.38229

EDN: EJTVLL

Abstract: The object of the study is the processes of metamorphism of frozen rocks, including structural restructuring, as well as plastic and brittle deformations of underground ice. In geocryology, many experts note the importance of considering the processes of deformation of frozen rocks. At the same time, the deformed rocks themselves do not stand out in a separate category, which makes it difficult to study the development of cryogenic geosystems after their formation. The main method used in this article is the analysis of the results of previous studies by various authors on the topic under consideration. The theoretical basis of the proposed approach is the provisions developed within the framework of the mechanics of frozen soils and structural ice science. The synthesis of the analyzed materials was carried out on the basis of a geosystem approach. In the proposed work, for the first time, a comparative analysis of structural deformations of various kinds of cryogenic formations was carried out. The relevance of the topic under consideration is due to the need to study the patterns of deformation of frozen rocks in natural conditions. Theoretically, this is important for a deeper understanding of the processes occurring in the cryolithozone. For practical purposes, work in this direction will allow us to more accurately assess the possibility of the development of dangerous engineering-geological processes with man-made impacts on frozen rocks. Changes in the structure of frozen rocks continue after the formation of the primary structure. Deformations, that is, violations of the primary addition, are an integral part of the structure of frozen rocks. Data on deformations of the primary cryogenic structure provide information about the history of the development of cryogenic geosystems that have already been formed. It is necessary to develop a classification of textural and structural deformations of the cryogenic structure of frozen rocks, in which a special type should be distinguished - metamorphosed ice formations. It is necessary to develop methods of structural and deformation analysis that allow establishing links between the observed deformations of the cryogenic structure and the processes occurring in frozen rocks.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.3.27121

Abstract: The subject of this research is the cryolithological and isotope-geochemical peculiarities of massive ice wedges found in the Yedoma formation of Stanchikovsky Yar on the Maly Anyui River – the left affluent of the Kolyma River. The study was carried out in August 2018. The Yedoma with a height of 25-35 m was found over the span of 4 km downstream the river from Anyuysk village. The massive ice wedges are exposed in over 20 fragments of Yedoma at different heights – from 10 to 35 m. The following methods were applied in the course of the research: cryolithological study of the exposed ice wedges and analysis of the stable oxygen isotope variations in ice wedge. It study demonstrates that the polygonal ice complex of the Yedoma formation of Stanchikovsky Yar, in all likelihood, is represented by 3-4 layered ice wedges. The heads of ice wedges are embedded at the approximate altitudes of 35, 25, 15 and 10 m above the level of Maly Anyui River. The narrowly buried ice wedges of 0.5 m thickness also indicate the layerage of structure of the complex. The age of the explored by the authors ice wedges varies between 25 and 35 and 25-29 ka. In this period, based upon the persistently low values of oxygen-isotope composition of massive ice wedges, the climatic conditions were fairly severe; the average winter air temperatures comprised –31, –33°Ñ, while the average January could reach –46, –47°Ñ.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.3.30744

Abstract: The subject of this study is the change in oxygen isotopic values in rudiments of the modern ice wedges in the lower reaches of Kolyma River. The authors provide delta18O values from the Ambarchik creek and Pokhodsk in the north to mouth of the Omolon River and Kolymsky rural locality in south of the  region. The critical analysis on publications dedicated to Nizhnekolymsky District and the adjacent territories, which were compared by the oxygen isotopic data and winter air temperatures. Similar works on Alaska and Northern Canada are also analyzed. The key research method is field testing of the rudiments of modern ice wedges, as well as the analysis of publications containing the data of delta18O values in Nizhnekolymsky District. The main conclusions of conducted research consist in the confirmation of dependences, obtained approximately 30 years ago by Y. K. Vasilchuk on Siberia overall and Nizhnekolymsky District in particular, connecting the delta18O values in the rusiments of modern ice wedges with average January air temperatures. The authors trace the tends of variability of the delta18O values from north to south according to distance from the moisture source and increase the degree of continentality.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.1.37366

Abstract: The results of long-term observation of the foundations temperature regime and dangerous cryogenic processes development near exploited well pads on the Yamburg field are presented. Temperature observations (1992-2020) includes data on four well pads. Influence of the natural and anthropogenic factors on the permafrost temperature regime was investigated. Based on a great experience of dangerous cryogenic processes field observations, a thermoerosion near gas well pads were characterized. Some well pads are considered, where the increasing of riverbed and ravine thermoerosion required the development of anti-erosion measures. According to observations, well pads frozen foundations temperature increases by an average of 0,039 °C per year. The results of observations show the absence of a pronounced technogenic temperature increase in the frozen well pads foundations, which Cenomanian gas produces. Taliks with a radius of 5-10 m around the wells are observed at the well pads foundations, which Valanginian gas produces. On the slopes and adjacent depressions, the temperature of frozen rocks is high, sandy soils of the dumps are subject to erosion. The development of thermoerosion processes threatens to the well pads foundations near the eroded riversides, in the areas of ice-wedge polygonal tundra.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2023.4.68845

EDN: ICLKJB

Abstract: The second decade and the beginning of the third decade of the XXI century in yedoma research were characterized by a variety of high-precision measurements of gas inclusions, molecular biomarkers, and DNA. The purpose of this paper is to analyze the most notable publications of 2010–2023 devoted to radiocarbon dating and stable isotope studies of yedoma in the Russian and North American Arctic. AMS dating and stable isotope analysis continued at Lomonosov Moscow State University (Yu.K. Vasil’chuk, A.C. Vasil’chuk, N.A. Budantseva, I.D. Streletskaya, Ju.N. Chizhova, J.Yu. Vasil’chuk), especially detailed on the yedoma of Batagay, Seyakha, Kotelny, and Faddeevsky islands. Active research was continued by the participants of the Russian-German expedition (A. Yu. Derevyagin, A. I. Kizyakov, S. Wetterich, T. Opel, J. Strauss, G. Grosse and L. Schirrmeister) on the yedoma sections of the New Siberian Islands. They studied the Batagay yedoma together with J. Murton and K. Ashastina. Researchers from the University of Fairbanks (M. Kanevskiy, Y. Shur, M. Jorgenson, and E. Stephani) studied in detail the yedoma of the Itkillik River valley, as well as new yedoma sections in the Fox Tunnel, where radiocarbon and isotope studies were also carried out by M.S. Lachniet and A. Sloat from the University of Las Vegas. Research has begun on molecular biomarkers and DNA (E. Willerslev, T. Jørgensen) in yedoma. The study of PAHs in yedoma ice wedges has also begun (Yu.K. Vasil’chuk). It is emphasized that isotopic data is not an end in itself for research; the next step, paleotemperature reconstruction based on these data, is necessary and logically justified. The accuracy and reliability of the proposed paleotemperature-isotope equations are considered.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.4.39429

EDN: LNECQT

Abstract: This paper considers the problem of monitoring seasonal changes in soil temperature in northern and mountainous areas in light of ongoing climate change. To study seasonal changes in soil temperature, the Moscow State University Meteorological Observatory was used as a model site with the ability to monitor air temperature, snow cover thickness, and ground freezing temperature and depth, which was a prototype of a system for monitoring the state of permafrost soils used in the Arctic and mountain territories. The paper presents the results of monitoring seasonal changes in soil temperature based on numerical modeling of the penetration of seasonal fluctuations in soil temperature in 2014–2017 in the MATLAB environment at the MSU Meteorological Observatory model site. The results of the numerical simulation of the penetration of seasonal temperature fluctuations in the ground at the MSU meteorological site in 2014–2017 in the MATLAB environment are in agreement with the thermometry data, and, therefore, the developed calculation scheme shows fairly good simulation results. This makes it possible to use the calculation scheme to assess the thermal state of frozen soils and assess the stability of foundations and buildings and linear structures located on them in the conditions of the north and mountainous territories. Therefore, the presented methodology can serve as a suitable method for monitoring and preventing the destruction of the studied structures in the conditions of climate warming.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.4.28619

Abstract: The processes of isotope fractionation inside the snow cover during the formation of infiltration ice (ice interlayers, crusts) are considered. On the temperate glacier zones of infiltration, ice formations are very common, and an understanding of the processes of isotopic transformation during snow-ice transition is important for distinguishing the type of ice formation. In addition to recrystallization transformation of snow into ice on the glaciers, the formation of infiltration and superimposed ice occurs, which should be accompanied by isotopic fractionation due to the difference in the fractionation coefficients between vapor and liquid/ice (precipitation) and liquid and ice (congelation ice formation). A field experiment was performed on the formation of infiltration ice inside a snow column with artificial stimulation of snow melting from the surface. The main method was the study of the isotopic composition of oxygen and hydrogen of snow and ice. Primary snow was homogenized, after a 14-day experiment inside the snow columns, a differentiation of snow by the isotopic composition of oxygen and hydrogen occurred. The values of δ18Î and δD are described by a regression equation with a slope 5. Such slope indicates water vapor diffusion processes. Infiltration ice on the isotopic composition of oxygen and hydrogen is slightly different from the original snow.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2020.3.32906

Abstract: The object of this research is the ice wedge casts and concomitant polygonal microrelief. The subject of this research is the delineation of ice wedge casts on the margin of southern exposure of the Lake Churapcha in Central Yakutia. It is a known fact that in permafrost areas, a pronounced polygonal microrelief is a sign of the presence of ice wedge casts. In geology, “delineation” is the outlining of contours and delimitation of boundaries of the deposits, minerals, and zones with different quality of mineral raw materials and mining-geological conditions, according to the data of geological study for rational development. Ice wedge casts and there is such deposit. The article summarizes the results of field engineering and geological surveys conducted in 1995 on the shore slope of southern exposure the lake that contains ice wedge casts. The author also examines the data from modern satellite images for detecting the activation of polygonal microrelief. The surveys of 1995 confirmed the widespread occurrence of ice wedge casts in the indicated district. According to geological section, the ice wedge casts were identified and delineated. The results of section of the bottom of lake-reservoir demonstrate that it is located in the “thawing bowl”. The presence of ice wedge casts is also indicated by a pronounced polygonal microrelief, which is confirmed by satellite images. As a result of climate warming, the upper limit of ice wedge casts may also change, approximately to 0.3 m, which depends on the air temperature, amount of precipitation and depth of seasonal thawing.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.3.36603

Abstract:   The subject of this research is the assessment of changes of the isotopic composition of ice wedge as a result of self-diffusion. The author offers a relatively simple method of considering the impact of the process of self-diffusion upon redistribution of paleo-isotopic composition that allows accurately and quickly estimating the changes in the values δ18Î and δ2H values in ice wedges at different periods of the quaternary (1000 years, 10,000 years, 100,000 years, and 1,000,000 years). The patterns of diffusion process in physico-chemical systems are described by two differential forms of Fick's diffusion laws, which are transformed into Gaussian integral, using six-digit Chambers charts for calculation of the threshold values δ18Î. The article applies the experimentally determined real values of self-diffusion coefficient in the ice – D=(2–10)×10-15 m2/s. The values of the Gaussian integral are calculated for time intervals, at different distances between samples with different concentration; for the period of 1,000 years its values in all cases exceed 0.99. For longer time intervals, these values change significantly. The calculated probabilistic values of changes in the concentration of heavy oxygen isotopes in ice wedge under the impact of self-diffusion at different distances and concentration gradients are noticeable only for the time period of over 100,000 years.  

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.1.33291

Abstract: The subject of the study is the analysis of the ratio of carbon (C) and nitrogen(N) and δ13C values in polygonal landscapes on the coast of Onemen Bay, near the Anadyr city. The maximum values of carbon (59.09%) and nitrogen (2.18%) in peatlands were obtained at a depth of 1.1 m in a narrow peat vein. The values of δ13C in the peatlands on the coast of Onemen Bay vary from -24.1% to -28.6%, the N content varies from 0.37% to 3.24%, the C content varies from 3.1% to 59.09%, the C/N value varies from 8.3 to 34.4.The values of δ13C and C/N values in the 1.5-m peat correspond to C3 plants, the values of δ13C and C/N values for a 2.5–m peat suggest the presence of algae along with plants C3. Fluctuations in the nitrogen and organic carbon content in the section of a 1.5-meter peatland to a depth of 0.8 m are synchronous, which suggests an autochthonous mechanism of peat accumulation, below depth of 0.8-1.2 m, there is a lightening of the carbon isotope composition, which suggests the participation of reworked organic matter in the beginning of peat accumulation. Fluctuations in the nitrogen and organic carbon content in the section of a 2.5-meter peat bog are synchronous, which suggests an autochthonous mechanism of peat accumulation.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.4.37277

Abstract: The research of peat and peat-mineral frost mounds was carried out in September – October 2021 in the northeast of Yamal Peninsula, 50 km north of the village of Tambey. Morphometric data was acquired om ten frost mounds. The wells with the depth of up to 1 m were drilled in 4 out of 10 mounds using electric drill, which outcropped the upper horizons of permafrost. Descriptions were given to seasonally thawed layer and drilled permafrost. Diameter of the mounds located in various landscape conditions varied from 4.5 to 9.8 m, and their heights ranged from 0.5 to 1.5 m. The thickness of seasonally thawed layer on these mounds varied from 28 to 131 cm, while the maximum depth of seasonal thawing was reached on the slope of the hillock, with rare exceptions when it was observed on the top of the hillock, or 1 meter from it. The steepness of hillocks rarely reached 10°, averaging from 3°to 5°. The seasonally thawed layer consisted mostly of the layers of lignite of varying degree of decomposition, rarely replaced by light gray loam (including peaty). Permafrost rocks were also represented by peat with high content of ice.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.2.26377

Abstract: The second part of the article is devoted to the consideration of the conditions for the development of two types of fluids in permafrost: frozen soils, and ice flows and gas flows. This work is hampered by the lack of a corresponding conceptual and terminological base, developed classifications, systematized features, differentiation of genetically distinct dynamic formations in frozen soils. In this work, the conceptual fluid dynamics terminology used in geology is analyzed and the possibility of its use in geocryology is considered. The main attention is concentrated on the construction of phenomenological models for the fluids formation in permafrost, supplemented by the structural method and by the method of actualism. The conditions for the development of various types of lithogenous fluids are analyzed: through the formation of a nucleus of rigidity, the motion of frozen soils along the slope, subaquatic landslides, and folding at the lateral surface of growing ice wedges. Based on the analysis of the structure of the gas emission crater (Yamal Crater), the possibility and conditions of gas filtration through icy frozen soils are considered. A mathematical model of the pressure filtration of gas fluids in structurally heterogeneous soils is proposed on the basis of the Brinkman equation applied to the frozen soils.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.1.25833

Abstract: The objects of this research is the massive ice beddings in the valley Mordyakha River valley, as well as the terrace of Seyakha River (Mutnaya) in the central part of Yamal Peninsula. First of the studied ice bedding outcrops is located the center of Yamal Peninsula, in the upper reaches of Mordyakha (68°11ʹ18ʺN, 68°51ʹ39ʺE), at absolute elevation of 66-70 m; the second one (70°23.4 N, 68°19.4 E) is located 0.6 km towards southwest of the field base GP-1 Bovanenkovo deposit and 5 km towards northwest of Bovanenkovo settlement, at absolute elevation of 87 m. The authors meticulously examine the structure of bedded deposits and peculiarities of their contacts with the enclosing rocks. The article studies the concentration of stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in ice, composition of the main anions and cations, as well spore-pollen remains within ice. The following conclusions were made: a) the studied bedded deposits are classifies as intra-ground type; b) one of the main water source that formed massive ice were lake waters and talik water ; c) in the process of ice formation took place a significant isotope fractionation, which led to the formation of layers with isotope composition heavier than the original lake waters.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.4.30997

Abstract: The subject of this research is gas filtration in frozen rocks. For the first time, in laboratory conditions, it was possible to identify the processes that accompany gas filtration in frozen ground. Particular attention is paid to the study of deformations of primary cryogenic textures during filtration of gas under pressure. The features of the propagation of gas fluids in a frozen sample are analyzed. A comparative analysis of the cryogenic structure of frozen samples with and without gas supply has been carried out. The mechanism of pressure filtration of gas in frozen rocks is formulated. When studying frozen ground samples subjected to pressure gas, we used the methods of texture and structural studies in transmitted, reflected and polarized light. To identify changes occurring in frozen samples under pressure from gas, a comparative analysis method was used. At the same pressure, at low temperatures of the samples, filtration does not occur. Filtering begins when the temperature rises to -1 - -2 ºÑ. In nature, these relationships are determined by geological, landscape, and climatic conditions. For the first time, in laboratory conditions, with the help of structural studies, it was possible to identify the processes accompanying gas filtration in ice.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2023.3.44176

EDN: VKRSQW

Abstract: The palsa and lithalsa are reliable indicators of the presence of permafrost, especially on the its southern border. The subject of the study is the consideration of the C/N ratio in the peat of the palsa and the litter and humus horizon of the lithalsa as a criterion for the separation of the palsa and lithalsa. The palsa near the Yeletskaya village in the Bolshezemelskaya tundra and the lithalsa in the Southern Transbaikalia near the Preobrazhenka village and in the valley of the Sentsa in the Eastern Sayan are considered. The history of the study of lithalsa and palsa in Russia at the beginning of the twentieth century is considered also. It was found that the nitrogen content in the surface layers of the lithalsa (0.45-1.73% in the valley of the Sentsa River and 0.47-2.01% near the Arachley Lake) is approximately in the same range as in the surface horizons of the palsa, regardless of the permafrost region. The results of the carbon and nitrogen content determining, as well as their ratios in the peat cover of the palsa are summarized. In contrast to lithalsa, the carbon content in the peat horizons of the palsa and flat-hummock peatlands is many times higher than the values obtained for both surface and buried organic horizons of the lithalsa. The value of C/N less than 13 has not been recorded for the peat cover of palsa, this indicator for lithalsa never exceeds 10-12.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.3.24541

Abstract: The research object is the isotopic composition of oxygen and hydrogen of ice-wedge casts, surface waters and atmospheric precipitation in Central Yakutia near the Mammoth Mountain, where the conditions are favourable in summer for evaporation and continental salinization of permafrost and subsurface ice. Special attention is given to the analysis of high indexes of isotopic composition of ice-wedge casts of the late Pleistocene, which can’t be explained by higher winter temperatures during the formation of ice wedges. The authors use hydrochemical data showing the signs of continental salinization in the fragments of wedges with heavy isotope composition. The main research method is the definition of isotopic composition of oxygen and hydrogen in the ice. In graphic form, one of the indicators of evaporation is the evaporation line, whose inclination on the dependency diagram δ18Î – δ2Í is around 5. The authors show that continental salinization of the landscapes of Central Yakutia can be explained by the combination of the processes of perennial freezing of sediments and evaporation during summer seasons. The authors design the system of indexes of continental salinization of cryogenic lacustrine-boggy landscapes on the basis of isotopic and hydrochemical data of surface waters and subsurface ice: 1 – abnormal heavy isotopic composition; 2 – isotopic composition indexes are on the evaporation line, whose angle of inclination (usually lower than 5) is lower that the angle of inclination of the global meteoric water line (8); 3 – high salinity of ice-wedge casts and sediments with prevailing continental salts. The obtained results are accurate and can be easily reproduced by any isotope laboratory in the world. 

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.1.29226

Abstract: This article presents the results of model experiments on the ability of microorganism cells to migrate in pore space of the various dispersion frozen soils: Neogene sand of the Mammoth Mountain (Central Yakutia), quartz sand and kaolin clay at a fixed nedagive temperature (-6.5°C). Currently, there are known the basic parameters of microbial transport in the soils; however, the existing data on possibility of their migration in frozen soils and rocks is either contradictory or absent. The study was carried out on the example cells of Bacillus cereus strain F. The experiments were conducted in deep-freeze at a fixed negative temperature throughout one year. The question on the possibility of microorganism cells migration in permafrost is relevant from the perspective of the paramount global life preservation issues, stratigraphy of the various permafrost arrays, as well as their dynamics in the conditions of climate warming and emergence of risks of bringing microflora with the unknown properties to the modern ecosystems. Throughout the observation period, there was detected no evidence of migration of the model bacterial cells in frozen soils. The author established that the pattern of change in the number of colony-forming cells of the model organism in inoculated part of the samples of frozen soils is greatly affected by the level of their dispersion and aggregation.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.2.35910

Abstract: The subject of this research is the composition of micro- and macro- rare earth elements in the Late Pleistocene syngenetic ice wedges of the Seyakha yedoma, explored in the outcrop of the Gulf of Ob in the east of Yamal Peninsula (70°9'27.88 "N, 72° 34'8.31" E), north of the Western Siberia. The All-Russian Scientific-research Institution of Mineral Resources after named N.M. Fedorovsky examined the composition of chemical elements in the ice wedges using the methods of atomic-emission spectrometry and mass spectrometry with inductively linked plasma (spectrometers Elan-6100, Optima-4300DV, Perkin-Elmer, Polyvac E-1000, Rank Hilger). The following conclusions were made: 1) Ice wedges of the Seyakha yedoma are rich in macro - and microelements was recorded, which exceeds such in ice wedges of Yakutia by 8-10 times. The high composition of microelements indicates the role of aerosol and soil particles in the formation of chemical composition of ice. The differences between the ice of Yamal and Northeastern Yakutia also testify that the chemical composition reflects the involvement of marine aerosols in ice formation. 2) Rare-earth elements accumulate in the ice of Seyakha yedoma. The composition of all rare-earth elements exceeds the Clarke number in river waters by 69 (Tm ) – 382 (Y) times. 3) Variability of microelement composition within the ice wedge is insignificant, which implies that the water of the polluted with dust and aerosols spring-summer snow is filtered through the entire snow layer and is partially cleaned prior to getting into the ice-break in the ground under the snow.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.2.22328

Abstract: The author shows that the purpose of cyclocryostratigraphy is to determine, characterize and interpret periodic or quasiperiodic variations in the cryostratigraphy of permafrost sections (mainly syncriogenic ones) and their use for refining the features of the formation of permafrost. The author formulates the concept of cryocyclitis as a complex of permafrost layers and their associations with ice wedges, characterized by the direction and continuity of the change in the cryostructures properties of the ground ice and its surrounding sediments, reflected in the location of the boundaries between them, which can be seen in a vertical section (in a borehole, outcrop, bore pit, etc.). The main research methods are the radiocarbon, stable isotope and geochemical ones. The study shows that often in the yedoma strata individual cyclites duplicate each other, thus demonstrating a continuous process. The author performs the cyclocryostratigraphic research of the structural features and development of the Late Pleistocene syngenetic ice wedge in the cyclical yedoma of the Asian Arctic: Western Siberia, Yakutia, Chukotka, Novosibirsk Islands, Alaska and northern Canada.Three cycles can be distinguished in the development of syngenetic ice wedges. Microcycles result from the changes in active-layer depth and the accumulation of a thin sedimentlayer over several years. Their vertical scale varies from centimetres to tens of centimetres, and their formation time ranges from one to hundreds of years. Mesocycles result from a change in the lake water level if ice-wedge formation took place on the banks or beneath shallow water. The vertical scale of mesocycles is a few metres, and their timescale usually varies from several hundred to a few thousand years. Macrocycles relate to a major change in the sedimentationregime or rarely – and mostly at the southern border of ice-wedge formation – with major climatic oscillations. The vertical scale of macrocycles numbers tens of metres, and their duration varies usually from many tens to sometimes hundreds of thousands of years.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.4.39339

EDN: DQRIKF

Abstract: The subject of the study is the yedoma i.e. perennially frozen organic-bearing (>1–2% of Corg) and ice-rich (containing 50–90 vol. % of excess ice) silty, sandy loam and fine sand deposit of Late Pleistocene age. Yedoma with multi-stages syngenetic ice wedges (up to 15–20 meters high and up to 3.5 m wide) aged from 11.7 to 50 cal. ca BP often saturated with rock debris and gravel inclusions in intermountain basins and river deltas. The most famous regions of the Siberia, where yedoma is widespread, are the Kolyma and Yana-Indigirka lowlands, the New Siberian Islands, Lena and Vilyui River valley, Lena-Anabar, Anabar-Khatanga and Magadan regions, Yamal, Gydan and Taimyr Peninsula, Olekma, Biryusa valleys. In Alaska, these are slump on the Itkillik River and the Fox Permafrost Tunnel. Yedoma of the Klondike are known in the Yukon. Sections with large ground ice in yedoma were first described in the early 19th century on the Alaska and the New Siberian Islands, the idea of syngenetic accumulation of permafrost arose in the late 19th - early 20th centuries, the mechanism of syngenetic formation of yedoma was described in the middle of the 20th century. In the end of 20th century, studies of yedoma reached a new level. The oxygen and deuterium stable isotopes study of ice wedges together with radiocarbon ages of ice wedges gave the possibility to reconstruct the winter paleotemperature during yedoma formation. It was established the different genesis of yedoma also.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.1.37722

Abstract: The article is devoted to the consideration of surface and deep factors that trigger the mechanisms for the preparation of explosive processes that form gas emission craters. The study object is local zones of gas-saturated soils with abnormally high gas pressure and gas craters. The main method used in this article is the bibliography review. The synthesis of the analyzed materials was carried out based on the geosystem approach. In the proposed work, an analysis was made of the main hypotheses of the formation of gas-saturated zones with increased gas pressure in frozen soils: 1) due to the comprehensive freezing of taliks (completely dependent on surface conditions; 2) due to the inflow of warm gas from underlying rocks into the surface layers (depending on deep sources); 3) due to the decomposition of gas hydrates contained in the permafrost (the reasons can be both surface and deep); 4) due to the joint interaction of the freezing talik and the associated deep gas inflow channel. Possibilities of realization of these or those hypotheses in real conditions are revealed. The relevance of the topic is due to the reassessment of the role of frozen soils as a screen that protects the atmosphere from the emission of greenhouse gases from the lithosphere. Evidence has appeared that this role of the cryolithozone is significantly weakened with an increase in temperature, while the frozen soils themselves can be a source of gas release.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.3.25807

Abstract: The object of this research is the epicryogenic sands developed in the territory Russia. They are located in all parts of the permafrost zone, but mostly concentrated within the ancient and young platforms. At the same time, within the zone of compact spreading of permafrost rocks, epicryogenic sands are often covered with syncryogenic sediments; and in the zone of joint spreading of thawed and frozen rocks are embedded in the surface. Sands of this type occur as part of glacial, aqueoglacial, glaciolacustrine, marine, alluvial-marine, glacial-marine, lacustrine-alluvial, alluvial and eolian genetic units of quaternary deposits. In certain districts, the epigenetic permafrost sands are identified as a part of the ancient pre-quaternary formations. In the Timan-Pechora platform it is the terrigene gray-colored formation of the Middle Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous; in the Western Siberia – the terrigene lignite-bearing Oligocene; in the Khatanga trough – the terrigene of Upper Cretaceous and Jurassic-Lower Cretaceous, as well as the coal-measure of the Upper Cretaceous. Within the limits of Vilyuy syneclise and Predverkhoyansk foredeep, the epicryogenic sands are confined to the molasse of Lower and Middle Jurassic, coal-bearing formations of Upper Jurassic–Lower Cretaceous, terrigene formations of Upper Cretaceous and Neogene. In the territories of folded mountain constructs, epicryogenic sandy soils are meagerly developed in hollows and river valleys as part of alluvial, lacustrine-alluvial, aqueoglacial and eolian quaternary complexes.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.3.35505

Abstract: The subject of this research is frozen rocks that compose gas emission funnels in the north of Western Siberia. The object of this research is the cryogenic factor that causes the formation of gas emission funnels. The authors substantiate the thesis that gas emission funnels are cryogenic phenomenon, and the processes preparing the explosion cannot be accurately interpreted without taking these features into account. The analysis of research materials on gas emission funnels, discovered in the north of Western Siberia, allows concluding that surface conditions may have a significant impact upon the formation of gas emission funnels. Special attention is given to consideration of the hypothesis of formation of gas emission funnels due to local heat penetration and gas supply from the depth. The necessary conditions are described. The article provides the examples of using geophysical methods for detecting of gas supply channels. It is concluded that gas emission funnels are the result of self-development of fluid-dynamic geosystems, which represent local, ice subsurface gas-saturated formations that are in a inequilibrium thermodynamic state with respect to the enclosing permafrost formations. The authors' special contribution consists in examination of the external and hidden mechanisms of the emergence of inequilibrium conditions od the mechanism that launches an explosion. The novelty of this research lies in the development of technique for determining the processes that cause the emission of underground gas, based on the analysis of cryogenic formations, which compose the walls of gas emission funnels.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.1.21546

Abstract: The author formulates a new line of research of permafrost and, in particular, homogeneous yedoma, - cyclocryostratigraphy. Cyclo-cryostratigraphy studies the rotation of different vertical frozen soil units of permafrost sediments in yedoma sections. The study demonstrates the cyclicity in the flysch formations in pre-Quaternary and Quaternary sediments on the Black Sea coast, near the Novomikhailovskoye settlement., in the Berriasian-Valanginian exposure near the village of Konakhkend, Azerbaijan, in the Eocene sediments of the Navagir range, the northwestern spurs of the Caucasus, the Abrau peninsula, in interstratifying sands and sandy loams in the Nagym section in the mouth of the Olenyok channel. The cyclicity in the vertical arrangement of pseudomorphs and subterranean veins outside the permafrost zone has been investigated. The main research methods are lithological, cryostratigraphical, radiocarbon, isotope, geochemical. The author detects cyclicity during the field research, and verifies its parameters with analytical determinations. The main results of the study include the successive transition from flysch cycles to the cyclicity of clays and cyclostratigraphic features of paleo-sections with pseudomorphs and ground vein. The author analyzes mesocyclic bedding of ground veins and pseudomorphs in the sections of Western Europe: Aschersleben in Germany, Kesselt, Remicourt and Harmignies in Belgium. The author analyzes stratification of pseudomorphs in the Late Pleistocene stratum in the Grove section in the north of the Netherlands. In the north of Italy, in the valley of the Po river, a multi-tier complex of pseudomorphs in loess strata is considered. A scheme for stratification of pseudomorphs in the Kotkino area on the left bank of the Soyma River, the tributary of the Pechora River, is considered.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.2.29823

Abstract: The study is devoted to the late Pleistocene-Holocene paleogeography of the central part of the Gydan Peninsula in the area of the Parisento. The work covers the results of field studies in the area of Lake Parisento and in the middle reaches of the Gydansky Yuribey. The study is based on field data, radiocarbon and OSL - dating and correlation with data from previous studies. It was established that in the lower part of the sections, Kazan-Early-Zyrian (MIS 5-4) dark gray loams and sandy loams outcrop. Above lie the Kargin-Sartan (MIS 3-2) lacustrine, or lacustrine-alluvial gray horizontally and cross-stratified sands that make up the surface at elevations of 20-30 m in the vicinity of Lake Parisento. Kargin-Sartan (MIS 3-2) alluvial light-gray fine-grained sands with wave lamination interbedded with dark-gray sandy loams and loams were found on the right bank of Yuribey River in the southeast of the area. Above are the Sartan (MIS 2) and Holocene gray cover sandy loams and loams. They lie at the top of the sections at elevations of 40-50 m. Holocene peats are encountered on top of the sections at various geomorphological levels.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2020.2.32698

Abstract: The object of this study is the geosystems of gas-saturated permafrost. Currently, the theoretical basis for examination of gas component in permafrost is practically not developed. At the same time, the theoretical and practical significance of this problem has rapidly increased in recent years. This is due to gas emissions during drilling of wells in frozen rocks, the identification of significant greenhouse gas emissions in the Arctic, the detection of previously unknown processes in the permafrost zone – the formation of craters due to gas emissions.The main method applied in the article is the analysis of research materials. The synthesis of the results was carried out on the basis of the geosystem approach. The authors are first to demonstrate that gas-saturated zones in seasonally and permafrost rocks have all the attributes of geosystems: localization in space, boundaries, morphology, individual structure and properties, development history, life cycle, hierarchy. Five types of geosystem were determined: active layer; genetic type; confined to geological structures; secondary, associated with the decomposition of gas hydrates in vivo; technogenic (due to thermal or mechanical effects on hydrated and gas saturated frozen rocks). The artcile describes promising directions in studying gas-saturated geosystems of permafrost zone, as well as  the advanced research methods.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.1.35361

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Late Pleistocene and Holocene ice wedges exposed near Chersky settlement, lower Kolyma River, and in the yedoma strata of the Stanchikovsky Yar on the Maly Anyuy River. In the yedoma of the Stanchikovsky Yar, multi-tiered syngenetic ice wedges were exposed at different levels – from 10 to 35 m above river level. Ice wedge in the lower tier was sampled in detail. In the yedoma strata near Chersky relatively small fragments of ice wedges up to 1.5 m wide and up to 2 m high were exposed. 1.5-2 km from Chersky within the lacusrtine-paludal depression Holocene ice wedges were exposed. Ice wedges in these three sections was sampled to clarify the geochemical conditions of their formation. It is shown that concentration of Na+, K+, Mg2+, Cl- and SO42- in Holocene and Late Pleistocene ice wedges is very low and mean values do not exceed 5 mg/L. The highest values were obtained for Ca2+, which corresponds to the predominance of this ion in the modern snow of Yakutia and indicates that ice wedges were formed mainly from melted snow. Rather high values of NO3-, reaching 14-27 mg/L, are quite likely due to the swampy environment within polygonal landscapes, where organic matter of both plant and animal origin is decomposed. For comparison, in the water of the Kolyma and Maly Anyu rivers, concentration of nitrates is quite low and does not exceed 0.3 mg/L.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.3.27776

Abstract: The object of this research is the massive ice-wedges and the enclosing Holocene sediments of the alluvial plain and a laida in the northwest of Gydan Peninsula in llower reaches of the Mongatalyangjyakha River. The authors analyze the distribution of chemical composition of sediments in depth, comparing with the structure of sediments. In examining the chemical composition of ice, particular attention is given to the determination of differentiation of mineralization and ionic composition within the range of a single wedge. For conducting the analysis of chemical composition, the authors picked out the pure ice from pits and exposures; the samples were additionally cleaned from the excessive mineral impurities. Some of the samples were filtered immediately after thawing. The parallel chemical analysis of water with sediment and filtered water demonstrated very similar results. The scientific novelty lies in determination of differentiation of ice wedged into the zones of uneven mineralization, which form as a result of shift in facial and hydrochemical situation during the growth of ice wedges. The main conclusions consists in the establishment of influence of the lagoon-marine water of Gydan Bay in lower reaches of Mongatalyangjyakha River, which manifested in the prevailing chlorine-sodium salinity of sediments, as well as in the development of differentiated by mineralization massive ice wedges, which were formed as the fresh thawed snow waters and river waters (on the alluvial plain) and the lagoon-marine water (on the laida).

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2022.2.38381

EDN: DNEPCQ

Abstract: The content of carbon and nitrogen, as well as the carbon-to-nitrogen ratio in the genetic horizons of the soil cover, yedoma deposits and in organic residues in syngenetic ice wedges (IW) of the upper IW complex of the Batagay megaslump were studied. The studied soils belong to the silty-loam Spodic Cryosol (Dystric,Humic) and post-pyrogenic Spodic Cryosol (Dystric,Humic). To study the carbon and nitrogen content, ice wedges of the first and second tiers of the upper IW complex were tested. The highest values of the C/N ratio were obtained in the upper horizon of the silty- loam Spodic Cryosol (Dystric, Humic) near the Batagay megaslump. The average value of the carbon content in the ice wedges of the Batagay yedoma is of 0.13 mol, the maximum is 0.36 mol, the minimum carbon content is 0.06 mol, the average nitrogen content is of 0.04 mol, maximum 0.12 mol, minimum 0.02 mol. For the entire data array of ice wedges, the value of C/N is of average 3.90, maximum 6.96, minimum 1.05.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.3.24433

Abstract: The subject of the study is the yedoma, which is found in the Batagaika crater (67°34'49 "N, 134°46'19" E), located 10 km southeast of Batagay settlement, Verkhoyansk settlement, the Sakha (Yakutia) Republic. The crater is located about 1.5 km downslope of the Kirgillyakh mountain; its absolute height is about 325 m. The main research methods are: fieldwork, analysis of oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopic composition, analysis of ion composition and content of dissolved forms of trace elements and their distribution in ice-wedges of the yedoma. Oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopic composition, ion composition and the content of the dissolved forms of minor and major elements were studied for the first time in ice-wedges of the Batagaika crater. It has been revealed that the ice-wedges of the Batagaika crater are of hydrocarbonate-calcium composition, a uniform content of minor and major elements is observed within each ice-wedge. The isotopic composition of the ice-wedges located in the upper (the average values of δ18O is –34.4‰, the value of δ2H is –266 ‰) and lower (the average value of δ18O is –35.7 ‰, the value of δ2H is –276‰) parts of the Batagaika crater indicates that the average January air palaeotemperature was from –51 to –55 °C.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.2.35962

Abstract: The subject of this research is the syngenetic ice wedges stripped in the Batagaika crater (67°34 '49" N, 134°46 ' 19 " E), located 10 km southeast of the Batagay settlement. The assessment of macroelement composition of ice was conducted using “Stayer” ion chromatograph (Russia), the chloride ion detection limit is 0.02 mg/l. The article examines the ionic and macroelement composition of ice in suspended and dissolved forms in the Late Pleistocene syngenetic ice wedge of the Batagay yedoma. A comprehensive geochemical research of the Batagaika crater is carried out for the first time. The author explores the upper and lower ice wedges of different age. The main conclusions are as follows: 1) mineralization of Late Pleistocene ice wedge of the Batagay yedoma ranges from 66.56 to 424.8 mg/l, from ultra-fresh to slightly salted; by ionic composition, the ice is bicarbonate-calcium and corresponds to the snow formed under the influence of continental air masses; 2)  the share of Ca contained in the dissolved form does not exceed 20-30%’ as far as other elements, the share of Mg, K, Na, Al, Fe, Mn in the suspended form is over  90%; 3) by mineralization, the Pleistocene ice of Batagay yedoma coincides with the previously studied Pleistocene ice wedges of Yakutia and the Interior Alaska.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.2.26673

Abstract: The study of the combinations of various types of ground and surface ice as paragenetic complexes are of particular interest, in order to understand the conditions of the ice formation. The following ice ensembles are examined: a) paragenetic combinations of ice wedge, ice with segregated and injection (intrusive) segregated ice in palsa and pingo cores, b) paragenetic combinations of ice wedge with massive ice, c) paragenetic combinations of ice wedge with ground icing (aufeis) and d) paragenetic combinations of ice wedge with glaciers and even icebergs ice. Among the main conclusions of the conducted research are the following claims: 1) Ice wedges form paragenetic combination with many types of underground and aboveground ice; 2) paragenesis of the wedges with anchor ice can be found in both, palsas and pingos.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.4.31594

Abstract: In September of 2019, sections of permafrost quaternary sediments were surveyed 5 km east of the Amderma settlement in the area of the Pervaya Peschanaya Lagoon. In this region, massive ground ice beds are numerous. They are classified by researchers as either, intrasedimental formations or buried glacial ice. In order to reconstruct the conditions for the formation of permafrost deposits, massive ice bed with a thickness of more than 4.5 m was described in detail. The structure of massive ice and overlying sediments is described. The ice texture and structure are characterized, and samples are selected to determine the content of stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes in the ice, as well as the content of methane and composition of the main cations and anions. The studied massive ice bed is covered by loamy sediments with shell fragments. The peculiarities of the cryolithological structure of the section (conformable upper contact of the ice bed, horizontal layering in the ice, gradual decrease in the content of ground inclusions in the ice down the section) speaks in favor of the hypothesis of ice formation as a result of slow freezing of the host sediments. There are no signs of burial of glacial or other type of primary surface ice in the structure of ice bed or host sediments.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.1.25857

Abstract: The object of this study is the ice wedges of Holocene age on the western coast of the Baydarata Bay, at the mouth of the Ngarka-Tambyakha River. In the coastal cliff structure of the thin polygonal peatland have been studied. The peatland is located in the upper part of the terrace 8-17 m high. The peat is underlain by gray icy loam with layered-lenticular cryogenic structure. Ice wedges revealed at the depth 0.8 m. Their width was 1.5-2 m, and outcropped height about 1.15 m high. One representative ice wedge was sampled across horizontal axis in the upper part, 9 samples were analyzed on a mass spectrometer, the oxygen isotope and hydrogen isotope composition of ice wedges was obtained. The main conclusions are: harsh winter air temperature in the area in Holocene varied between –16 and –19° Ñ, which is about 10°Ñ warmer compared to Late Pleistocene and were close to modern ones. Obtained results complement sparse information on Holocene winter air temperature for the Baydarata Bay coast.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2019.2.29778

Abstract: The object of this research is the yedomas in Alaska and Klondike with the well-defined cyclic qualities. The author examines the mesocyclic polygonal-lode complex McLeod Point, mesocyclic polygonal-lode complex  on the Itkillik River, mesocyclic polygonal-lode complex in Chatanika, mesocyclic polygonal-lode complex  in the Last Chance Creek valley, mesocyclic polygonal-lode complex in the Fox permafrost tunnel, mesocyclites in the Seward Peninsula, Colville River valley, the northern slope of Alaska, and Klondike near Dawson City. The main research method contains the analysis of cryolithological structure, radiocarbon dating, oxygen-isotope and hydrogen-isotope data. The main result of the conducted research lies in identification of mesocyclites in the Alaska and Klondike yedomas, such as: a) there are three vertical growth mesocyclitic stages in the MacLeod Point yedoma; b) four vertical growth mesocyclitic stages are common in the Chatanika yedoma; c) at least four vertical growth mesocyclitic stages are identified in the Itkillik yedoma; d) at least four vertical growth mesocyclitic stages are revealed in the Fox permafrost yedoma; e) at least four vertical growth mesocyclitic stages are tiers are distinguished in the Last Chance Creek valley; f) large, two or more layered syngenetic lodes are detected in the Seward Peninsula, Colville River valley , and the northern slope of Alaska yedomas – two-layered lodes; g) Klondike yedoma, near the Dawson City, is characterized with powerful two-three layered syngenetic lodes.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.1.22323

Abstract: Holocene wedge ices are widespread within laidas, peat bogs and flood plains of lakes and rivers of the Yamal Peninsula. The aim of the paper is to study palynological characteristic of exposures of wedge ices located at different geomorphological levels. The author estimates realibility of radiocarbon dating of polygonal wedge ices of the base of palynological characteristic and considers the possibility of estimating the idiogenousness of wedge ices on the basis of comparison of palinospectra of wedge ices and their deposits. The author detects several stages of vegetation evolution in this region. The main approach to ice wedge complex study is based on the fact that palynospectra of ices and deposits represent different seasons of pollen accumulation. While subfossil palynospectrum is accumulated during the whole vegetation season and consisits both of local and regional peculiarities of land cover, palinospectra of wedge ices are formed of spring pollen rains and reflect mainly regional characteristics. Reliability of the radiocarbon dating is estimated according to the constitution of Pre-Quaternary pollen in the sample, because it indicates the constitution of aicient penecontemporaneous organic material in the sample indirectly. Main stages of vegetation cover development in Holocene are distinguished on the base of these studies.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.3.27019

Abstract: The object of this research is the permafrost sandy soils of Eastern Siberia. Their age range spans from the Mesozoic through the Holocene. The pre-quaternary permafrost sands are developed within the limits Vilyuy syneclise and Khatanga trough, and fall into the epicryogenic category. The quaternary sands are composed of aqueoglacial, glaciolacustrine, marine alluvial-marine, eolian, lacustrine-alluvial and alluvial genetic units. In the northern districts, the syncryogenic soils usually compose the upper part of the cutoffs of these units, while underlying the epicryogenic soils. In central and southern districts, the epicryogenic sands are often embedded on the surface. The study of archive and published materials allowed revealing and generalizing the peculiarities of composition, structure and characteristics of permafrost sands of the platform and mountain territories of Eastern Siberia. It is noted that their granulometric composition extensively varies – from gravelly to silty types. The higher is the sand dispersion, the higher is their natural moisture and porosity factor, and the lower is the density of soil and soil skeleton. The fine and silty sandy soils often have a schlieren cryogenic structure, significantly settle during thawing and frequently develop into the running sands. The larger sands have a predominantly massive cryogenic structure, and settle insignificantly during thawing.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.1.25871

Abstract:   The object of this research is the most southern massive ice in the Yamal Peninsula, located on the left bank of the Erkutayakha River (68°11ʹ18ʺ N, 68°51ʹ39ʺ E). A dislocated ice massif occurred in the 15-18 m exposure of the sandy layer. Its total length is about 100 m. The ice massif is composed of different types of ice. There are four types of ice: 1) pure matte white ice with a large number of gas xenogenic inclusions; 2) crystal clear ice, sometimes with soil inclusions; 3) gray ice with a steel tint, layered parallel to the slope of the upper surface of the massive ice; 4) gray block-ice, lies in the form of tiles. Each type of the ice was examined, and 10 samples of ice from different parts of the outcrops and of ice of different types have been selected for pollen study. The results of this study allowed more adequately evaluating the origin of the ice.  

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2021.2.36003

Abstract: This article examines the sections of the high floodplain of the Seyakha River (Zelenaya) and sections of Holocene peat layers with ice wedges on the third terrace. Palynospectra from sediments and ice wedges of the high floodplain are characterized by a rhythmic fluctuations typical to floodplain facies. The presence of spruce pollen is related to resedimentation, since spruce pollen is detected in the samples with the composition of verifiably resedimented palynomorphs around 10% or higher. The change in composition of the pollen of Siberian pine, scots pine, and birch tree is associated with a change in wind drift, since fluctuations in the composition of the pollen of these taxonomic units do not correlate with fluctuations in resedimented palynomorphs. Therefore, the three periods of increased wind drift and possible increase in pollen productivity can be determined based on mid-period contrast changes in the structure of palynospectra. At the same time, the local peak of cereals is replaced three times by the maximum pollen of dwarf birch and alder. The absence of larch trunks can be substantiated by fires, the traces of which are observed in the section, as well as that larch at the northern limit of its habitat has crumbly wood tissue, which is being rapidly destroyed. Tree limb, needles, and cones usually remain, while the wood tissue is absent. It is assumed that ice wedges formed here 8.5-6 thousand years ago during a single cycle of the change in wind direction and speed , when prevalence of birch tree pollen with some alder pollen at a relatively low pollen concentration was replaced by the dominance of gramineae pollen, and then, dwarf birch pollen in the spring pollen rain. Palynospectra of these ice wedges indicates an increase in the sum of positive temperatures from 8.3 to 6 thousand years.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.3.27600

Abstract: The subject of this research is the Late Pleistocene and Holocene massive ice wedges discovered in the exposures of Yedoma formation nearby Chersky settlement and a small Holocene exposure on the lakeshore explored close to the scientific station on the edge of Chersky. Relatively small fragments of the Late Pleistocene ice wedges, which are up to 1.5 m wide and up to 2 m high, were found in the Yedoma formation. The massive ice wedges in these two exposures were tested for clarification of paleoclimatic conditions of their development. The main research methods contain the field study of massive ice wedges and enclosing sediments, their testing and analysis of the oxygen isotope composition of the ice wedges. The measurement of oxygen isotope composition are conducted in the regime of the constant flow of helium (CF-IRMS) on the Delta-V mass spectrometer using the gas-bench complex. The scientific novelty lies in examination of the new previously undescribed exposure of the Late Pleistocene ice wedges in Chersky settlement, as well as a small Holocene wedge on the edge of the settlement. The value of δ18Î in the Late Pleistocene ice wedges vary from –32.24 to –31.45‰, while in the Holocene ice wedge from –27.94 to –26.37‰.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2018.1.25949

Abstract: The outcrop of 7-m terrace in the mouth of Gyda River (70°53ʹ41ʺ N. 78°30ʹ14ʺ E) is the object of the study. There are two generations of ice wedges and four stages of ice lens occurred in peaty sand. Syngenetic ice wedges are in paragenesis with massive ice. Considerable reworking of organic material is proved. Seven cycles of vegetation changes corresponded to local pollen zones. Their duration is about 0.5-2 ka. Sediments accumulated at alternation of subaerial and subaueous stages in 3-13 ka BP.Ice wdges accumulated at the end of the Late Pleistocene in 11-12 ka BP and in the Holocenein 3-4 ka BP. The total annual thawing index variated from 200 to 800 oC x day

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2016.2.21378

Abstract: The paper studies the composition of water-soluble salts of ice wedges and massive ice of different regions of the Russian Arctic: Western Siberia, central and northern Yakutia, Chukotka. The research methodology is based on the fact, that the chemical composition of ground ice reflects the hydrochemical conditions of the period of ice formation or freezing and can serve as an important criterion for the reconstruction of a paleo-facial component in paleo-geocryological elaborations. To compare the ice of different regions, the author develops a hydro-chemical classification (systematization) of ground ice: ultra-fresh ice with mineralization less than 50 mg / l, fresh ice - 50-200 mg / l, desalted - 200-400 mg / l, light-salted - 400-1000 mg / l, mesohaline - 1000-5000 mg / l, highly saline - 5000 mg / l and more. The author finds out that ice mineralization is less than 0.05 g / l in more than a half of samples from the ice wedges in Chukotka, while the ice samples with the same mineralization reach only 16% of cases in Western Siberia and 14% of cases in Northern Yakutia. However, if we take a broader range – (mineralization less than 0.15 g / l), then the closest resemblance is observed. This range includes almost 100% of the analyzed samples in Chukotka, 89% in Western Siberia and 80% in Northern Yakutia. These findings suggest that though there are regional differences between the composition of salts in permafrost sediments of different Arctic regions of Eurasia (caused primarily by the uneven nature of air masses transport in wintertime and the different influence of seas and oceans), their similarity is much more significant. This manifests itself in low mineralization and dominance of hydrocarbons, indicating, most likely, the atmospheric nature of water that had fed ice wedges in the Late Pleistocene, in the Holocene and the present time. Certain findings of high-salt ice wedges in rare cases indicate the possibility of sea, lagoon and bog waters participation in the ice wedges formation in the Late Pleistocene and Holocene in the shallow water conditions. In the coastal areas high mineralization indicates the involvement of dead and salt-affected waters of seasonally thawed layer. Data on the hydrochemical composition of massive ice are often decisive for determining the genesis of ice layer. It had resulted in increase of salinity downward the massive ice section Ledyanaya Gora (Ice Mountain) in the Yenisei River valley, indicating the intra-ground origin of the ice. The lower horizons of massive ice in the New Siberian Archipelago formed syngenetically by the injection. Strongly mineralized (4700 mg / l) massive ice formed at epigenetic freezing process found in wells at great depths in the northern Urals and Pai-Khoi.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.2.23342

Abstract: The subject of the study is the distribution of oxygen and hydrogen stable isotopes and the variations of the deuterium excess in snow and glaciers of the Polar Urals and massive ice of the south of the Yamal Peninsula and the coast of Baydaratskaya Bay. The isotope composition of winter snow and ice of the glacier No. 1, and the glacier of the Romantics was studied in the Polar Urals. On the south of the Yamal Peninsula, the isotopic characteristics of the massive ice in the valley of the Erkutayakha River, Oyuyakha River and at the mouth of the Sabettayakha River were analyzed. The massive ice of the autochthonous type should differ significantly in the isotopic composition of the ice from the buried ice. Isotopic characteristics of massive ice are a good tool for studying the conditions of the ice formation, which is due to the processes of isotope fractionation of oxygen and hydrogen during phase transitions, while the fractionation factor of vapor-water and water-ice transitions are determined by temperature. Variations of stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in massive ice and the δ2H -d-excess ratio are used as a diagnostic tool to determine the type of ice formation. In winter snow of the Polar Urals higher values of isotope composition is recorded with depth increase, reflecting the seasonality of snow accumulation. Very high values of the deuterium excess are recorded - from 14.3 to 19 ‰, the average value was 16.9 ‰. Values of the deuterium excess are distributed in antiphase with the distribution of heavy oxygen and hydrogen with depth. The values of δ18Î in the ice of the glacier ¹1 range from -12.6 ‰ to -16.03 ‰, δ2H - from -96.7 ‰ to -115.1 ‰. The values of the deuterium excess in the ice of the glacier No. 1 are rather low, averaging 6-7 ‰, the highest value of d-excess is 13.1 ‰ the minimum value of d-excess = 4.7 ‰. For glacier ice No. 1, a negative slope δ2H-d-excess is noted, indicating congelation ice formation in a closed system (i.e., a limited volume of water). This can occur when a certain volume of thawed water in pores of the firn, when the firn mass, saturated with thawed water, turns into ice. The Romantik Glacier occupies in δ2H-d-excess ratio an intermediate position between the atmospheric precipitation (snow cover) and the ice of the glacier No. 1.Variations of stable isotopes of oxygen and hydrogen in the massive ice on the Erkutayaha River in the southern part of the Yamal Peninsula are significant, and the δ2H-d-excess ratio is an evidence of mostly intra-soil injection ice formation, i.e. freezing of a limited volume of free water. The δ2H-d-excess ratios for massive ice at the mouth of the Oyuyakha River at the coast of Baydaratskaya Bay evidences that a powerful ice body could have been formed when a large volume of water was frozen in a closed system, as can be seen from the trend of decreasing of δ18O values down from the top. The non-explicit expression of the negative correlation of δ2H to d-excess may be due to the fact that the source of moisture was the surface water evaporated, or was characterized by less isotope fractionation than the theoretical one. The values of d-excess in ice are from 8.4 to -2.3 ‰ and indicate rather the intra-soil formation of ice. Variation of the δ2H-d-excess ratio in ice formation is an additional tool for diagnostic studies of massive ice genesis and types of ice formation.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2017.2.23189

Abstract: The subject of the study is the Late Pleistocene and Holocene syngenetic ice wedges of the Mamontova Gora and Syrdakh outcrops and the reconstruction of winter temperatures of ice wedge formation periods. The main study objects are ice wedges over 7 m high in the upper part of the 50-60-meter heigh terrace of the Mamontova Gora, the ice wedges are surrounded by the 9-12 m thick lacustrine loamy sediments. The Holocene and modern ice wedges on the high flood plain of the Aldan River are also studied. In the thermoerosine ravine near Lake Syrdakh the Late Pleistocene ice wedges were also studied. The main research methods are the mass-spectrometry analysis of the oxygen and hydrogen isotope composition of the Late Pleistocene, Holocene and modern ice wedges. Also a direct dating of microinnclusions of organics material from ice wedges by the AMS method in the Mamontova Gora was performed. New radiocarbon dates of organic matter from sediments surrounding and overlying of ice wedges has been obtained. Using the known ratios of mean winter and mean January temperatures with isotopic composition of ice wedges, the winter palaeotemperatures of Central Yakutia were reconstructed for key periods of the Late Pleistocene. The main conclusions of the study are: a) the mean winter air temperature during the majority of the period of formation of the Late Pleistocene ice wedges of the Mamontova Gora was in the range from -28 to -31 °C, the average January temperatures reached -42, -46 °C; b) in the Syrdach Lake region the winter conditions were slightly more severe: the mean winter temperature varied mainly from -30 to -32 ° C, the average January temperatures reached -44, -48 °C; c) in the Holocene, the average winter temperatures were higher: from -24 to -28 °C, and the mean January temperatures from -36 to -42 °C.

DOI: 10.7256/2453-8922.2016.1.21420

Abstract: The research subject is the peat permafrost mounds on the northeast of Bolshezemelskaya tundra. The authors study the permafrost mounds at different stages of development – from the adolescent and growing to the mature and broken. The mature permafrost mounds are from 3 to 4,7 m high; some of them have the signs of primary breaking in the form of stains of bare peat or cavities on the surface. The height of adolescent permafrost mounds usually doesn’t exceed 1,5 – 2 m; the broken mounds look like peat mounds, surrounding the lows. The width of peat, superposing the mounds, varies from 0,8 to 1,2 m on mature mounds to 0,3-0,6 m on broken mounds. The authors sample the peat on mounds and lows (at 5-10 cm intervals); establish the radiocarbon age, the composition of carbon and nitrogen and the isotope composition of peat carbon. Radiocarbon dating shows that the studied mounds had formed in the period of Holocene optimum; the highest mounds formed about 7,7 – 4,8 thousand years ago. The authors show that within the limits of the studied mound landscapes in Holocene, the conditions of water intrusion, the composition of vegetative cover and the temperature of vegetation periods continually changed. Peat accumulated in the conditions of high water intrusion; the permafrost condition of peat had determined its low decaying and humification. Both in the period of Holocene optimum and at the present time, permafrost mounds develop cyclically, that is determined by both climate changes (air temperature and the snowiness of winters) and local factors, including the change of masses humidity.