No 1 (2025)
Articles
On the question of the origin of the subethnic group of Russian Arctic old-timers of Yakutia
Abstract
For the first time, the article identifies three stages in historiography on the topic of Russian settlement of the Arctic part of Yakutia: pre-revolutionary, Soviet and post-Soviet. The first of them was dominated by the idea of the resettlement of Russians by the Northern Sea Route from Pomerania to Indigirka. The second stage is characterized by the finds of the remains of a trade and fishing expedition of the XVII century on Taimyr, which proved the existence of ancient traditions of northern navigation. In the third period, evidence of the liquidation of the Russo-Georgian archive appeared, and works on the migration of Russians by the Northern Sea Route began to be evaluated as "local patriotic discourse". For the first time, documents from the United States prove the complex nature of the genesis of Russians in the Arctic occurred by sea and land, as well as assimilation with indigenous peoples. The methodological basis of the study was the civilizational approach, since the genesis of the Russian old-timers of the Arctic was associated with the formation of their ethnocultural characteristics. In the pre-revolutionary period, based on folklore data and the Russo-Georgian archive, the question of Russian migration by sea from Pomerania to Yakutia was first raised. During the Soviet period, the discovery of the remains of a 17th-century commercial and fishing expedition on the Taimyr testified to the existence of ancient shipping traditions in Eastern Siberia. The genesis of historical legends began to be considered as the result of litigation over fishing areas between indigirschiki and Yakuts. The absence of archival documents on the voyages of the Pomors along the Northern Sea Route was noted and it was said about the flight of the ancestors of the indigirschiks from the epidemic from the south to the north. Russian Russian migration route in the post-Soviet period began to be regarded as not an academic, but a local patriotic discourse, the desire to increase their social status, turning them from "not quite Russian" into "the most Russian". The formation of Russian subethnoses occurred due to migration waves by the Northern Sea Route and the Cossack explorers of the XVII century. Indigenous peoples played a decisive role in the emergence of the Russian Arctic old-timers of Yakutia. Also, for the first time, archival documents introduced here in the United States support the conclusions about the centuries-old experience of Pomeranian sailors. The combination of oral traditions, archaeological data and archival materials confirm the guess about the multi-component nature of the origin of the Russian Arctic old-timers of Yakutia.
Arctic and Antarctica. 2025;(1):1-15
1-15
Concentration of the main soluble ions in the composite wedges of the Upper Sand unit of the Batagay megaslump
Abstract
Syngenetic composite wedges CW-10, CW-11, CW-12, CW-13, CW-14, and CW-15 were discovered in the Upper Sand unit of the Batagay megaslump, located 10 kilometers southeast of Batagay settlement. The goal of this work is to investigate the composition of ions in composite wedges in order to determine their formation characteristics. The ion composition of composite sand-ice wedges 10–15 from the upper sand is dominated by sulfate anions; their content reaches 372 mg/L. The content of chlorides is high – up to 94 mg /L, the ratio of chloride anions to sulfates reaches 2.7. Among the cations, calcium stands out—up to 172 mg/L and sodium up to 117 mg/L. The content of magnesium cations is up to 115 mg/L. The measurements were performed using a Stayer ion chromatograph. The average EC values in sand-ice wedges are: No. 10 – 407 mSm, No. 11 – 742 mSm, No. 12 – 583 mSm, No. 14 – 783 mSm, and No. 15 – 696 mSm. The average sodium cation content in composite wedges is: No. 10 – 22 mg/L, No. 11 – 63 mg/L, No. 12 – 28 mg/L, No. 14 – 57 mg/L, No. 15 – 35 mg/L. Average values of calcium cation content in sand-ice wedges: No. 10 – 0.42 mg/L, No. 11 – 89 mg/L, No. 12 – 63 mg/L, No. 14 – 92 mg/L, No. 15 – 98 mg/L. Average values of chloride anion content in sand-ice wedges: No. 10 – 23 mg/L, No. 11 – 48 mg/L, No. 12 – 41 mg/L, No. 14 – 51 mg/L, No. 15 – 35 mg/L. Average values of sulfate anion content in sand-ice wedges: No. 10 – 27 mg/L, No. 11 – 104 mg/L, No. 12 – 105 mg/L, No. 14 – 128 mg/L, No. 15 – 64 mg/L. Using the ionic composition of composite wedges as a geochemical tracer to study the problem of the genesis and formation processes of composite wedges allows us to obtain additional evidence of the nature of sand-ice wedges and the conditions of their formation. The chemical composition of wedges located in the Upper Sand unit was influenced by continental aerosols and slope suprapermafrost waters. The most significant difference in the ionic composition of composite wedges from the simultaneously accumulating ice wedges of the Batagay yedoma is the predominance of sulfate anions; their content (up to 372 mg/L) is one and even two orders of magnitude higher than in the ice of most yedoma wedges. In general, the ionic composition of composite sand-ice wedges differs significantly from the ionic composition of the Batagay yedoma ice wedges. Composite sand-ice wedges were formed with the active participation of slope processes and slope suprapermafrost waters.
Arctic and Antarctica. 2025;(1):16-43
16-43
Optimization of Statistical Modeling Parameters for Geophysical Fields in Permafrost Conditions
Abstract
This study examines the geocryological environment of a site near Norilsk’s Nickel Plant slag dump. The rectangular area spans 600 by 1000 meters. The goal is to assess permafrost properties within the geological section. The section is analyzed using geophysical methods to depths of 15 meters, with data validation through boreholes averaging 15 meters, one reaching 20 meters. Sparse and heterogeneous data necessitate interpolation for continuous models. Interpolation algorithms, including a three-dimensional Bayesian approach, were used with parameter tuning for search radius, neighbors, and covariance function type. This approach accounts for soil property variability and improves spatial model accuracy. The study adapts methods for reliable geocryological modeling. Analysis uses ArcGIS Pro, employing the empirical Bayesian method with validation through borehole and geomorphological data. Key conclusions include a methodology integrating geophysical investigations and statistical processing for permafrost modeling. The three-dimensional approach better captures environmental variability and enhances accuracy, confirmed by borehole data. For instance, the seasonally thawed layer’s thickness identified through geophysics aligns with geomorphological and lithological features. A three-dimensional method, Bayesian Kriging 3D, was adapted for permafrost conditions. Parameters like covariance function type, partitioning scale, and neighbors were studied. This is the first evaluation of empirical Kriging’s effectiveness in this area. The results support infrastructure planning and resource management, demonstrating advanced geostatistical techniques’ applicability for Arctic permafrost modeling.
Arctic and Antarctica. 2025;(1):44-59
44-59
Geomorphological structure and several physico-chemical properties of soils in Western Spitsbergen maritime cryogenic landscapes
Abstract
Spitsbergen is the territory with unique landscape, geological and biological diversity under threat of degradation as a consequence of air temperature dynamics and permafrost area and thickness decrease. Additionally, nowadays in Spitsbergen the mining activity continues (coal, metal ores, hydrocarbons) and the quantity of tourists rises yearly. These reasons unavoidably lead to ecosystem transformation processes. In 2024 field studies of soils and natural waters at Western Spitsbergen cryogenic landscapes took places around Green-Fjord (Barentsburg) and Colesbay (Polar station). 19 soil profiles were described and classified as 8 types. Soil were described according to classification and diagnostics of Russian soils. Soil peats studies were carried out by the landscape-geochemical (catenar) principle. In soil cover structure of the elevated geomorphological levels – I and II marine terraces (including those covered by deluvial shields), – gleyic cryozems and humified petrozems dominate. Soil surfaces on these levels are complicated by nano-polygonal cryogenic microrelief. Soil diversity of lower geomorphological levels – river floodplains and low (periodically flooding) accumulative sea coasts, – is presented by pelozems, petrozems, and sulfide solonchaks, developing in conditions of shallow dense rocky layer depth. Major part of studied natural waters is characterized by moderate oxidation-reduction potential around 100-250 mV, acidity rate vary within 6.5-9.5. Mineral-peaty gleezems developing in the lowlands with the periodical flooding by sea waters are characterized by the highest acidity rates and compose negative oxidation-reduction potential (down to -3 mV) and high mineralization (between 3-5 g L-1). Soils of these landscapes are most perspective from the point of lateral matter migration in catenas of the Spitsbergen maritime cryogenic landscapes for the reason that contrast lateral geochemical barriers are able to form here.
Arctic and Antarctica. 2025;(1):60-81
60-81
Clays of yedoma suite
Abstract
The subject of the study is the permafrost strata composed of clayey soils, sandy loams, and loams. It has been shown that the layers of the permafrost complex are usually made up of ice-rich, dusty, sandy-loamy soils. However, they are often represented by ice-rich sandy, sandy-gravel, and even gravelly soils. The definition of permafrost layers is provided. Permafrost is characterized by high ice content (containing more than 50-90% ice), generally rich in organic material (containing more than 1-2% organic matter), silty and dusty sandy and fine sandy late Pleistocene deposits; in intermountain basins and on slopes, permafrost layers can be saturated with loam and gravel, while in river valleys and deltas, they may contain gravel and rock debris. The age of permafrost layers varies from 12 to 50 cal. ka BP. Permafrost deposits contain massive (up to 15-20 m high and more), often multilevel, cyclically arranged, syngenetic ice wedges. Exposed permafrost deposits typically emit a specific "old stable" odor due to decaying organic matter. The research methodology consists of a detailed review of the permafrost layers studied by the authors and colleagues. Permafrost with coarse clastic material has been found north of 80° N and in the south in the Western Sayan and Transbaikalia south of 55° N. The most interesting sections, studied by the authors in northern Russia, are the sections of the permafrost complex mainly composed of clayey, loamy, and sandy soils, exposed in the ice wedge complex at the Seyakha village (height over 20 m), permafrost outcrop at the Zelyony Mys village (exposure height over 40 m), the Duvanny Yar outcrop (height about 55 m), the Bison outcrop (up to 15 m high), Stanchikovsky Yar outcrop (height about 35 m), the Batagay megaslump (height over 75 m), and in the valley of the Mayn River. It is particularly emphasized that in Western Siberia, permafrost layers have been studied in the Yamal Peninsula in the Seyakha Late Pleistocene syngenetic yedoma suite, with heights ranging from 22 to 24 m.
Arctic and Antarctica. 2025;(1):82-91
82-91
Dynamics of quality and results of monitoring the content of petroleum products in the rivers of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug (Russia)
Abstract
The aim of the study is to assess the current state and dynamics of water quality in rivers of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug over a long period. Particular attention is paid to the increased content of petroleum products in rivers' waters. The problems of pollution of water in the region associated with technogenic factors are presented in detail. The main sources of surface water pollution with petroleum products are considered. The ongoing active industrial development of hydrocarbon reserves in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug is a determining economic factor in the region, and, in turn, determines the need to control changes in the ecological state of the environment. This paper describes the factors that influence the chemical composition of surface waters. The formation of the quality of waters of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug in the proximity of the cold Kara Sea and the presence of permafrost, as well as increasing anthropogenic influence, is considered. An analysis of long-term hydrochemical information from the state observation network of Roshydromet has been carried out, allowing to assess changes in the content of petroleum products in the surface waters of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug for the period 2014-2023. The spatiotemporal changes in the content of petroleum products in the water of the Ob, Pur, Taz, and Nadym river basins in 2014-2023 are considered. Analysis of the dynamics of the content of petroleum products in the water of the river basins of the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug over a long-term plan revealed multidirectional levels of water pollution. Increased concentrations of petroleum products in river water are due to both physical-geographical, hydrological and climatic processes, as well as an increase in the level of technogenic impact of oil and gas production complexes.
Arctic and Antarctica. 2025;(1):92-107
92-107