Measuring Snowmelt in Siberia: Causes, Process, and Consequences

Abstract

The soil erosion on arable lands of Siberia is widespread. More than 50 % of all farmlands are subject to erosion to various degrees. Erosion is the main process of soil degradation in West Siberia which can lead to a catastrophic decrease in the fertility of soils, and pose a threat to food security in the region. Studying the causes, the process of soil erosion and its consequences is an important question both for science and for farm production. The purpose of this work is to show the main methods and devices used to define the quantity and quality of surface snowmelt water runoff, and also the damage caused by this in the form of soil erosion. To quantify the overall snowmelt erosion process, the following parameters need to be measured: the total pre-winter water reserve of soil, snow depth, snow water equivalent, depth of soil frost penetration, volume of snowmelt water runoff, runoff coefficient, water stream temperature, and soil loss with surface snowmelt water runoff. Research takes place in 3 stages: (1) preparatory stage, during which the late fall period soil water supply is defined and the runoff and thermometric plots are constructed; (2) studying the process of accumulation of solid atmospheric precipitation, the nature of its distribution over the territory, and also the influences of snow depth on the frost penetration in soils; and (3) monitoring the snowmelt process in spring, during which the intensity of snowmelt, the volumes of a superficial drain of snowmelt waters, and the damage caused by them to a soil cover are defined. One special feature of the Siberian soils during the cold period of the year is the intra-soil ice sheet, which is largely impenetrable to melting water and positive temperatures. This ice sheet in Siberian soils is one of the reasons for snowmelt water runoff forming. Over a period of 45 years we measured a mean annual soil loss of 6 t/ha by snowmelt erosion on arable land in West Siberia.