UDC

551.34

Authors

Aleksey A. Maslakov*, Vladimir T. Ruzanov**, Dmitriy G. Fedorov-Davydov***, Gleb N. Kraev****, Sergey P. Davydov*****, Dmitriy G. Zamolodchikov****, Oleg D. Tregubov**, Nikolay I. Shiklomanov******, Dmitriy A. Streletskiy******
*Lomonosov Moscow State University (Moscow, Russian Federation)
**Chukotka Branch of North-East Interdisciplinary Scientific Research Institute named after N.A. Shilo, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, Anadyr, Russian Federation)
***Institute of Physicochemical and Biological Problems of Soil Science of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Pushchino, Moscow region, Russian Federation)
****Centre of Forest Ecology and Productivity of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Moscow, Russian Federation)
*****North-Eastern Scientific Station of Pacific Geographical Institute, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences (Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), Chersky village, Russian Federation)
******George Washington University (Washington, USA)
Corresponding author: Aleksey Maslakov, address: MPO-1, Leninskie Gory, 1, stroenie 12, Moscow, 119234, Russian Federation; e-mail: alekseymaslakov@yandex.ru

Abstract

The paper presents the results of long-term observations for the dynamics of seasonal thawing of soils in various parts of the Beringia Paleo-region: the Kolyma and Anadyr Lowlands, the coast of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, the Seward Peninsula and Point Barrow. The factual data are the field measurements, conducted in the framework of the Circumpolar Active Layer Monitoring program (CALM), study materials at the Dionisiya field permafrost station (Anadyr, Chukotka), and an array of information from the operating meteorological stations of the northeast of Russia. Monitoring sites are located in natural conditions, typical for the surrounding areas, representing zonal landscapes from the arctic tundra in continuous permafrost to the northern taiga and southern tundra in sporadic permafrost. Intrazonal landscapes represented by the river floodplain are also included in the study. The analysis of interannual fluctuations of the depth of seasonal soil thawing and summer air temperatures (June‒ September) revealed common patterns and trends: the majority of considered monitoring sites since 1980‒1990 demonstrated the increase of active layer thickness, followed by the increase in summer air temperatures. This period ended by the stabilization phase in 2000‒2010. The growth of the active layer thickness is characteristic only of some sites of the Kolyma Lowland and the East Chukotka region (the Gulf of Saint Lawrence), which demonstrates the ambiguous response of the active layer to the environment changes. The results presented in this paper can be used for the analysis of the dynamics of the regional natural conditions in the context of regional climate change.

Keywords

active layer, permafrost, climatic change, Beringia, Kolyma, Chukotka, Alaska

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