The modern hydrological regime of the northern part of Western Siberia from in situ and satellite observations

Abstract

We studied the hydrological regime of the rivers Poluy, Nadym, Pur and Taz in the Northern part of Western Siberia. Compared to their large neighbours – Ob′ and Yenisey – these four rivers are characterised by more homogeneous natural conditions. This makes them a reliable indicator of climate variability in the Arctic part of Western Siberia. First we present seasonal and interannual variability of river discharge from historical observations. Next we analyse river runoff in the context of climate parameters and assess modern contribution of various sources to the total volume of river water. The volume of meltwater during the spring flood is compared with estimates of snow in situ, and from NCEP and SSM/I. Finally, we estimate the extent and variability of flooded and wet zones from satellite radar altimetry observations.

Keywords:

• Western Siberia
• Arctic rivers
• Discharge
• Wetlands

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to the Centre for Topographic Studies of the Oceans and Hydrosphere (CTOH) at LEGOS, Toulouse, France for providing the altimetric and radiometric data. We would like to thank Manuela Grippa (CESBIO, Toulouse, France) for SSM/I data on snow water equivalent. The research has been supported by the Russian‐French cooperation GDRI ‘CAR‐WET‐SIB’ Biogeochemical cycle of carbon in wetlands of Western Siberia and by the French ANR ‘IMPACT‐Boreal’ project.