Abstract
We studied 46 small, drainless lakes in various landscape types: The sub-taiga (Vasyugan plain), forest–steppe (Baraba lowland), and steppe and subzone of ribbon forests (Kulunda plain). Sampling of lake components (sediments, water, and biota) was performed. The materials were analyzed via a combination of modern analytical methods (atomic absorption spectroscopy, X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffractometry). It was found that in the south of Western Siberia, lakes with a bicarbonate-sodium water composition are widespread against the background of general landscape zoning. This composition contributes to the abundant growth of biota in the lakes, which leads to the processes of authigenic carbonate formation from calcite–dolomite series and aragonite on geochemical barriers, i.e., drifting biota–water, submerged biota–water, and water–bottom sediments against a background of terrigenous demolition and organic matter accumulation. The article shows the differences in the composition and structure of low-temperature carbonate minerals formed on various geochemical barriers. It was found that low-magnesium calcite and aragonite are the most common authigenic carbonates in small lakes in the south of Western Siberia and are formed on all three geochemical barriers in lakes. High-magnesium calcites and Ca-excess dolomites are formed only at the water–bottom sediment barrier in lakes with HCO3–Na and Cl–HCO3–Na water composition at pH > 9 and with a total dissolved solids > 3 g·L−1 (in some lakes of HCO3-Na composition with a TDS < 3 g·L−1 and pH > 9).
Highlights
One of the characteristics of Western Siberia is the extensive system of lake basins
In a collaborative article with biologists [34], the fluxes of organic compounds and the contribution of phytoplankton with regard for its grazing by zooplankton, zooplankton, and macrophytes were calculated for small lakes in south of Western Siberia
The formation of authigenic carbonate minerals occurs at geochemical barriers: Drifting biota–water, submerged biota–water, and water–bottom sediments
Summary
One of the characteristics of Western Siberia is the extensive system of lake basins. There are more than 20,000 lakes in the south of its territory alone. Small lakes are more severely affected by environmental changes than large reservoirs, which is reflected in their sedimentary records. Bottom sediments contain information about the behavior of elements in the processes of modern sedimentation, e.g., in the patterns of their distribution and concentration in different landscape settings in conditions of increasing anthropogenic influence. The occurrence and development of small lakes is directly related to the formation of terrain and changes in natural and climatic conditions. The study of sedimentation processes in small lakes has shown that there is a certain set of factors that affects the sediment’s geochemical composition [3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10]
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