Waterbody methane emissions per area are negatively correlated with the size of the emitting waterbody. Thus, ponds, defined here as having an area smaller than 8 · 104m2, contribute out of proportion to the aquatic methane budget compared to the total area they cover and compared to other waterbodies. However, methane concentrations in and methane emissions from ponds show more spatial variability than larger waterbodies. We need to better understand this variability to improve upscaling estimates of freshwater methane emissions. In this regard, the Arctic permafrost landscape is an important region, which, besides carbon-rich soils, features a high pond density and is exposed to above-average climatic warming. We studied 41 polygonal-tundra ponds in the Lena River Delta, northeast Siberia. We collected water samples at different locations and depths in each pond and determined methane concentrations using gas chromatography. Additionally, we collected information on the key properties of the ponds to identify drivers of surface water methane concentrations. The ponds can be categorized into three geomorphological types with distinct differences in drivers of methane concentrations: polygonal-center ponds, ice-wedge ponds and larger merged polygonal ponds. All ponds are supersaturated in methane, but ice-wedge ponds exhibit the highest surface water concentrations. We find that ice-wedge ponds feature a strong stratification due to consistently low bottom temperatures. This causes surface concentrations to mainly depend on wind speed and on the amount of methane that has accumulated in the hypolimnion. In polygonal-center ponds, high methane surface concentrations are mostly determined by a small water depth. Apart from the influence of water depth on mixing speed, water depth controls the overgrown fraction, the fraction of the pond covered by vascular plants. The plants provide labile substrate to the methane-producing microbes. This link can also be seen in merged polygonal ponds, which furthermore show the strongest dependence on area as well as an anticorrelation to energy input indicating that stratification influences the surface water methane concentrations in larger ponds. Overall, our findings underpin the strong variability of methane concentrations in ponds. No single driver could explain a significant part of the variability over all pond types suggesting that more complex upscaling methods such as process-based modeling are needed.

In the urban conditions in Salekhard city, a complex of methods, including electrical resistivity tomography (ERT), ground penetrating radar (GPR), a seismic survey on refracted waves (REF), on surface waves (MASW) and the standing waves selection, was tested on solving geocryological problems and monitor the permafrost at the building base. As a model object, a residential building on a pile foundation, built according to the principle I and equipped with a continuous geothermal monitoring system, was chosen. It has been established that the ERT, REF, and MASW methods are ineffective in the conditions of a reinforced concrete pile foundation in a grillage and a concrete floor screed with a layer of loose bulk soil under it. The best result was shown by GPR at frequencies of 150 and 400 MHz and seismic exploration with the standing wave selection. A combination of these methods is recommended for determining the upper permafrost boundary under buildings, determining the actual piles-length, the quality of their fixing, assessing the water content of soils in the area around the piles, and establishing the residual building life.

<p>Arctic ponds are significant sources of methane, but their overall contribution to pan-Arctic methane emissions is still uncertain. Ponds come in different sizes and shapes, which are associated with different stages of permafrost degradation. Methane concentrations and fluxes show large spatiotemporal variability. To better understand this variability, as a first step towards upscaling pond methane emissions, we studied 41 ponds in the Lena River Delta, northeast Siberia. We collected water samples at different locations and depths in each pond and determined methane concentrations using gas chromatography. Additionally, we collected information on the geomorphology, vegetation cover as well as on key physical and chemical properties of the ponds and combined them with meteorological data.</p><p>The ponds are divided into three geomorphological types with distinct differences in methane concentrations: water-filled degraded polygon centers, water-filled interpolygonal troughs and larger collapsed and merged polygons. These ponds exhibit mean surface methane concentrations (with standard deviation) of 1.2 ± 1.3 μmol L-1, 4.3 ± 4.9 μmol L-1 and 0.9 ± 0.7 μmol L-1 respectively, while mean bottom methane concentrations amount to 102.6 ± 145.4 μmol L-1, 263.3 ± 275.6 μmol L-1 and 17.0 ± 34.1 μmol L-1. Using principle components and multiple linear regressions, we show that a large portion of spatial variability can be explained by the ponds’ shape and vegetation. Merged ponds have the least relative vegetation cover, and they also tend to be better mixed, both of which explains the lowest methane concentrations and the lowest variability in these ponds. Vegetation covers larger fractions in polygon centers and troughs, leading to a larger methane variability. Finally, troughs, as they are underlain by ice wedges, exhibit more pronounced stratification and the highest methane concentrations. More results will be presented at the conference.</p>

The Kelbes-Zolotokitat region is one of the oldest gold-placer nodes in the Kuznetsk Alatau (Western Siberia, Russia). The production target in this area nowadays is mainly shallow valley alluvial placers. However, it is assumed that placer deposits accumulate a minor part of the region's gold resources, while large primary gold sources still remain undetected. Neither deep structure of gold ore regions, nodes and fields in the junction zone between the Kuznetsk deflection and the Kamzhelinsky block nor the regional distribution patterns of gold mineralization reflected in physical fields have been given proper investigation and analysis. The paper deals with the results of magnetotelluric studies together with the analysis results of potential geophysical fields in order to search for an ore-controlling structure hosting primary gold sources. The selected complex of methods is efficient for studying crustal heterogeneities spatially associated with orebearing structures in the Kuznetsk Alatau. A conductive heterogeneity with the vertical thickness up to 7 km caused by the endogenous channels of basement rocks fluid-magmatic processing and limited by deep-penetrating fault zones has been distinguished on the geoelectric section. The identified signs of intrusive magmatism in the area of the Kuznetsk deflection is also a significant result. The depth of the top of the granitoid body is 5 km. The watershed zone of the Konyukhta and Sukhaya rivers is marked as promising for further research using a detailed observation network.