Permafrost thawing inferred from Arctic lake sediment of the Taimyr Peninsula, East Siberia, Russia

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to reconstruct permafrost thawing at 71°N of Arctic Siberia during the termination of the Little Ice Age and the subsequent Recent Warming. Sediment samples from Lake Dalgan of the Taimyr Peninsula were analysed by high-resolution X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy at 1 mm scan resolution, and Fourier-transform infrared techniques. Intense permafrost thawing was calculated from the level of terrigenous and leached matter supplied by meltwater into the lakes. We defined three episodes of increased permafrost thawing during the last 170 years. The first maximum of permafrost melting occurred from 1870 to 1880, the second episode was from 1900 to 1930 and the third began from 1960 and continues to date. During these periods, maxima of permafrost melting occurred with a specific time lag following temperature maxima.

Keywords:

• Arctic Russia
• Permafrost thawing
• XRF-SR scan
• FTIR

Acknowledgements

We are grateful to Osipov E. Yu, Suslova M. Yu, I.V. Tomberg and A.D. Firsova who took part in the coring campaign at Arctic lakes in 2009. This study was supported by grants Program of the RAS No 21.7, MD-4389.2009.5