Monitoring of agrophysical properties of the active layer of drained long-frozen peat deposits in Western Siberia

Abstract

In this study, the authors considered the dynamics of the main agrophysical properties of hydromorphic geosystems in Western Siberia. In the process of evolution, as well as in the conditions of technogenic impact, the soils of natural-territorial complexes, their properties are subject to significant changes. New hydromorphic geosystems are formed, the soils of which are characterized by changed agrophysical properties. Modern technologies for developing investment projects for soil reclamation of hydromorphic geosystems should be based on agrophysical characteristics of reclaimed soils, on the basis of which it is possible to create the necessary parameters of drainage systems and, as a result, provide optimal soil regimes for agricultural crops for a long period. The difficulty is that these soil characteristics are variable over time. Until recently, agrophysical characteristics of soils obtained in other regions of the country were used in the development of reclamation projects for hydromorphic soils in Western Siberia. The attempt to borrow them has led to the fact that large areas of drained soil have become completely unsuitable and to restore their project productivity, a number of agro-reclamation activities and the attraction of large financial resources are currently required. In this regard, there is a need for a comprehensive, long-term study of the main properties of hydromorphic soils used for agricultural purposes, and especially their changes over time under the influence of anthropogenic load.

The Role of Thermal Denudation in Erosion of Ice-Rich Permafrost Coasts in an Enclosed Bay (Gulf of Kruzenstern, Western Yamal, Russia)

“…Coasts in permafrost regions are extremely sensitive to environmental changes; coastal erosion is among the major destructive geomorphic processes in the Arctic, with circum-Arctic average shoreline retreat rate reaching 0.5 m yr −1 (Lantuit et al, 2013). While coastal erosion in low latitudes mainly depends on wind and wave energy and sediment composition of the shores (e.g., Luijendijk et al, 2018), as well as sea level rise (Meyssignac and Cazenave, 2012) and human impacts, drivers of the Arctic coastal dynamics are unique with respect to the added influence of permafrost and ground-ice (internal drivers) and seaice dynamics (external drivers). Together, they comprehend such highly variable processes as thermal abrasion, or thermal and mechanical destruction of permafrost coasts by waves, and thermal denudation, or thawing of the frozen ground at the bluffs and slumping of material due to gravity (Aré, 1988;Razumov, 2001;Leontiev, 2003).…”