Chukchi Peninsula Research Articles

Lumbar spondylolysis in ancient Siberian Eskimo

AbstractPrevious studies have shown that North American and Greenland Arctic groups are characterized by high incidence of spondylolysis. The hypotheses explaining the high predilection to spondylolysis in these populations range from genetic predisposition to lifestyle characteristics. To date, however, no study assessed the presence of spondylolysis in the Siberian Eskimo. Thus, the current study presents new data from the Asian side of the Beringia, the original homeland of the North American and Greenland Inuit groups. The skeletal material originates from the Ekven burial site in Chukchi Peninsula, Russia. Most burials belong to the Old Bering Sea tradition of marine mammal hunters, embracing the period from the beginning of the 1st to the beginning of the 2nd millennium AD. Totally, 71 individuals were studied. Spondylolysis was present in 38% of individuals and in 11% of studied lumbar vertebrae, with higher incidence in juveniles and young adults compared with other ages and in males compared with females. There was an evident increase in the severity of the stress fractures from adolescence to middle adulthood (i.e., more vertebrae affected per individual and higher proportion of bilateral fractures). The reported incidence of spondylolysis in the Ekven is in the range of the values reported for the North American and Greenland Inuit groups and is expectedly high against the values for groups of European and African ancestry. Although the accumulation of gene variants responsible for spondylolysis in Arctic groups is possible, it is more plausible that some adaptive morphological characteristics make them prone to fatigue fractures of the lower spine in the conditions of the specific physical activity.

Marine debris on two Arctic beaches in the Russian Far East

In August 2005, marine debris was counted on two Arctic beaches in the Russian Far East. On the north coast of the Chukchi Peninsula east of Kolyuchin Bay, a beach stretch of ca. 2.4 km held a total of 736 items, 0.024 items m‑2, while no more than 0.0011 items m‑2, 12 items in total, were found on a beach stretch of ca. 1.2 km on southern Wrangel Island. The likely explanation for this difference is that the area around the mainland beach is ice-free for a longer period each year, but a contributing factor may be that late spring ice movement removed plastic from the beach on Wrangel Island. The language on the few items with identifiable labels was for the most part Russian or English, making the Chukchi Sea a possible source region. Beaches at the same latitude in the Atlantic may hold more debris on account of the higher human population density, more shipping and transport of floating debris unhindered by a narrow strait that is ice-covered much of the year. Fishing gear blown across the tundra is suggested as a potential threat to reindeer and other terrestrial wildlife.

Hydrochemical composition of Holocene ice wedges near the town of Anadyr

The research is conducted on the Holocene ice wedges exposed in the outcrop of the first marine terrace near the town of Anadyr, on the east of the Chukchi Peninsula, on the coast of Onemen Bay. Polygonal Relief is clearly traced on the surface of the first sea terrace in the area of explorations, the size of the polygons is about 8x12 m. In the exposed terrace, turf with a capacity of about 1.5 m is striped, underlied with sand clay with  capacity up to 2 m; below is the horizontally-stratified and. Ice wedges are embedded the turf (head of wedges) and in the underlying clay sand. The ice of wedges is vertically stratifies, yellowish gray. Ice wedges are also striped in turf  outcrops with capacity of up to 2.5 m, embedded in form of a lens from the terrace surface. Ice from three most fully exposed ice wedges was sampled for hydrochemical analysis. A total of 20 ice samples were collected from Holocene ice wedges, as well as ice from modern ice veinlet and water from Onemen Bay. It was found that mineralization of the studied Holocene ice wedges is low, does not exceed 80 mg/L, Na+, Ca2+, and Cl- dominate. Similar values of mineralization and ionic composition were obtained for modern ice veinlet. The obtained data correspond with data on ice wedges studied in other regions of Chukotka, both continental and coastal. Mineralization of most of the previously studied ice wedges did not exceed 150 mg/L. Low values of mineralization of ice wedges near Anadyr demonstrate mainly meteoric source of water forming ice, i.e. winter precipitation, prevalence of sodium and chlorine indicates the capture of sea aerosols by precipitation or wind introduction of droplets from the water area of the Onemen Bay to the surface of the snow cover.

Scheelite of the Kekura Gold Deposit, Western Chukchi Peninsula: Trace Elements and Fluid Inclusions

Scheelite of the Kekura gold deposit in the Western Chukchi Peninsula is reported for the first time. Three generations of the mineral have been identified. According to the LA–ICPMS data, the Mo content in scheelite does not exceed 0.2 ppm and the total REE ranges from 20 to 150 ppm. The REE distribution patterns of all three scheelite generations have a strong positive Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu* = 4.4–55.6), which is typical of scheelite from intrusion-related and orogenic gold deposits. The high Sr concentration (1300–12 000 ppm) is characteristic of the hypabyssal intrusion-related Au deposits. According to the fluid inclusion data, the minimal crystallization temperature of scheelite and associated quartz is 200–250°С.

Scheelite from Kekura gold deposit, Western Chukchi peninsula: Trace elements and fluid Inclusions

Scheelite from the Kekura gold deposit in the Western Chukchi Peninsula is reported for the first time. Three generations of the mineral have been identified. According to the LA–ICP–MS data, the Mo content in scheelite does not exceed 0,2 ppm and total REE ranges from 20 to 150 ppm. The REE distribution patterns of all three scheelite generations have a strong positive Eu anomaly (Eu/Eu*=4,455,6), which is typical of scheelite from intrusion-related and orogenic gold deposits. The high Sr concentration (1300–12000 ppm) is characteristic of the hypabyssal intrusion-related Au deposits. According to the fluid inclusion data, the minimal crystallization temperature of scheelite and associated quartz is 200–250 °С.

ИНТЕРПРЕТАЦИЯ КУЛЬТОВЫХ СООРУЖЕНИЙ ИЗ ОЛЕНЬИХ РОГОВ В ЧУКОТСКОЙ КУЛЬТУРЕ

The article analyses sources on the history of cultic constructions from deer horns, which are associated with funeral ritual practice in the Chukchi culture. The author reveals the meaning of cultic constructions, identifies their value as a source of information on the Chukchi Peninsula ancient history. The findings indicate that cultic constructions have ancient roots; they performed certain functions in the ancient Chukchi community; the practice of creating them is preserved among the older generation of deer-breeders in tundra. The author identifies the types of cultic constructions and the techniques to create them.

A new species of Schaefferia Absolon (Collembola: Hypogastruridae) from Chukotka, Russia, with remarks on the related forms.

A new species of the genus Schaefferia, S. bermani sp. nov., is described from the eastern coast of Chukchi Peninsula (Russia). It is most similar to S. czernovi (Martynova) which is widespread in the northern parts of more western regions of the Palaearctic. Both species are characterised by the presence of 5+5 ocelli and a similarly shortened furca, but differ in morphology of the labial palp and chaetotaxy of Abd.4. Remarks on several related forms, including Japanese S. quinqueoculata (Yosii), are given.

Traditional Diet and Environmental Contaminants in Coastal Chukotka IV: Recommended Intake Criteria.

The article is the last in the series of four that present the results of a study on environmental contaminants in coastal Chukotka, conducted in the context of a multi-disciplinary investigation of Indigenous foodways in the region. The article presents the Recommended Food Daily Intake Limit (RFDIL) guidelines of the locally harvested foods in coastal Chukotka. The guidelines were developed based on the results of the analysis of the legacy persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and metals found in the samples of locally harvested food, which was collected in 2016 in the villages of Enmelen, Nunligran, and Sireniki on the south coast of the Chukchi Peninsula, Russian Arctic. The overall aim of the article is to expand the toolset for dealing with the challenges of: (1) setting the dietary recommendations when we assess multiple contaminants in a variety of foods (and our method of RFDILs calculation is an example of a possible approach), and (2) managing the real-life circumstances when many types of foods are mixed in many dishes regularly and the concentrations of contaminants in these mixed dishes become uncertain. Drawing on perspectives from the fields of environmental health sciences, humanities, social sciences, and visual art, the authors consider the RFDILs of the examined foods in the context of the culinary practices and aesthetics values (those that relate to the culturally held ideas of beauty ascribed to a dish or the processes of its preparation and consumption) of the Indigenous Arctic cuisine in the region of the Bering Strait, and in the broader dynamics of food and culture.

Physicochemical Conditions of Formation of Gold and Silver Parageneses at the Valunistoe Deposit (Chukchi Peninsula)

Abstract —The mineral composition of ores from the Gornyi occurrence of the Valunistoe epithermal Au–Ag deposit (Chukchi Peninsula) has been studied. It has been found that, in addition to native gold, the Au–Ag mineralization comprises chalcogenides (uytenbogaardtite, petrovskaite, acanthite, naumannite, and cervelleite) and minerals of the pearceite–polybasite series, which occur as microinclusions in fine-grained pyrite. The physicochemical conditions of formation of productive mineral assemblages have been estimated based on the chemical composition of Au and Ag minerals and their relationships with other minerals. It is shown that ores were deposited from weakly acid solutions at the late stages, on the background of a temperature decrease from 350 to 100 °C, a decrease in the fugacities of sulfur (logfS2, from −2 to −23), tellurium (logfTe2, from –5 to –27), and selenium (logfSe2, from −16.5 to −28), and changes in the redox conditions (logfO2, from −23 to −48).

On the origin of endemic stone charr in the Kamchatka River basin

The Kamchatka River basin (Kamchatka Peninsula, Russia) is populated by numerous anadromous and resident forms of charr, Salvelinus, including the endemic stone charr, a specialized predator that inhabits the river and its tributaries along with the Northern Dolly Varden. Nucleotide sequences of the entire gene sequence of cytochrome b and cytochrome c oxidase-1, control region and locus of the lactate dehydrogenase gene (LDH-C1) were used for analysis of stone charr differentiation and its phylogenetic relationships with other representatives of the Bering group (Northern Dolly Varden S. malma malma and white charr S. albus). The ratio of within- to between-population divergence of mtDNA nucleotide sequences was analogous to that previously reported for S. malma malma populations. The genealogy of mtDNA haplotypes and analysis of LDH-C1 gene confirms the affinity of stone charr and white charr to the Northern Dolly Varden phylogenetic group. Two divergent mtDNA lineages have been identified in the Kamchatka River basin, with stone charr and white charr being the main carriers of the haplotypes of a new identified group in this region. Evidence has been obtained for the common origin of stone charr from the Kamchatka River basin and Northern Dolly Varden from the Chukchi Peninsula and Alaska.

Coastal dynamics of the Bering Sea (Lorino site, Chukchi Peninsula, Russia).

Coastal dynamics of the Bering Sea (Lorino site, Chukchi Peninsula, Russia).

Roles of Postcollisional Granitoids and Aptian–Albian Extension in Tectonic Evolution of Mesozoic Structures on Chukchi Peninsula, Northeastern Russia

New U–Pb SIMS zircon datings from granitoid plutons and dikes of Western Chukotka, together with data obtained earlier, confirm that postcollisional granitoid magmatism and dike intrusion occurred in the Aptian–Albian (117–105 Ma ago) and marked a change in the tectonic regime during tectonic evolution of Chukotka Mesozoides from collision to extension. These events might be related to the opening of the Amerasian Basin, which had begun in the Jurassic, and to the formation (in the Aptian–Albian time) of the Makarov and Podvodnikov oceanic basins, as well as the Anakhurgen, Nutesyn, and Kameshkov basins in the continental framework of the Eastern Arctic. The synchronicity of the tectonic extension and spreading events in the Canada Basin, on the one hand, and collisional events, deformations, and reorganization of structural style and sedimentary environment in the South Anyui suture, on the other hand, is noted. This may be regarded as confirmation of the rotation hypothesis of formation of the Amerasian Basin.

Динамика берегов Берингова моря в районе поселка Лорино (Чукотский автономный округ)

Динамика берегов Берингова моря в районе поселка Лорино (Чукотский автономный округ)

Mineralogy of the Tumanny Au-Ag-Te-Hg epithermal veins, Western Chukchi Peninsula, Russia

The Tumanny Au-Ag-Te-Hg epithermal prospect, Chukchi Peninsula, Russia is located in the near contact zone of the large Vuknei pluton, part of the Early Cretaceous Egdykgych Complex, which is related to the Peschanka porphyry copper deposit and the Nakhodka porphyry-epithermal ore district located 45 km north of Tumanny. Mineralization at Tumanny is characterized by an early carbonate-base metal and a late gold-silver-sulfosalt mineral assemblage. Pyrite of the first assemblage is unzoned and As-poor, and tennantite-tetrahedrite solid solutions (Ttrs) are characterized by a weak oscillatory zoning caused by variable contents of Sb and As, low Ag content, and the widely variable Sb/(Sb + As) values. Pyrite of the second assemblage is zoned and As-rich (up to 5.2 wt%) and Ttrs is weakly zoned and Ag-rich (up to 10.35 apfu) and has a comparatively narrow range of Sb/(Sb + As) value. Electrum, Au-Ag alloy (“küstelite”), Au-Ag-S phases, hessite, polybasite, and imiterite recognized at the prospect belong to the second mineral assemblage. The homogenization temperature of primary fluid inclusions in quartz ranges from 340 to 210 °C and decreased during the mineralizing process; fluid salinity varying from 0.8 to 5.2 wt% NaCl equiv is not evolved during the process. Cores of quartz crystals formed from a boiling fluid, whereas crystal rims appear to have formed from a lower temperature non-boiling liquid. LogfS2 decreased from −8 at the formation of carbonate-base metal assemblage to −16 at the deposition of gold-silver-sulfosalt assemblage as temperature decreased from 340 to 200 °C. Bulk ICP-OES analysis of mineralized samples indicated up to: 38 ppm Au, 908 ppm Ag, 154 ppm Mo, 106 ppm Te, 53 ppm Se, 9246 ppm As, 1284 ppm Sb, and 23 ppm Bi. Cluster analysis of the data obtained identified three geochemical associations corresponding the carbonate-base metal the gold-silver-sulfosalt, and to the overlapped mineral assemblages. The whole-ore composition is controlled by mineralogy of these assemblages. Taking into account the geological setting, mineralogy, composition of minerals, and fluid inclusion data, the Tumanny Au-Ag-Te-Hg prospect is characterized as intermediate sulfidation epithermal style.

Two new littoral species of the genus Anurida Laboulbène, 1865 (Collembola, Neanuridae) from the Pacific coast of Asia.

Two new littoral species of the genus Anurida, viz. A. kyshyensis sp. nov. and A. abashiriensis sp. nov., have been described from the eastern coasts of Chukchi Peninsula (Russia) and Hokkaido Island (Japan), respectively. The former species is most similar to sympatric A. similis Fjellberg, 1985 and A. martynovae Fjellberg, 1985 differing from both of them due to the permanent presence of additional lateral setae on thorax and 3+3 axial setae on Abd.4. A. abashiriensis sp. nov., having unique mandibles and hypertrophic elongate maxillae with long lamellae, is hard to compare with any known species of Anurida and allied genera.

The Geochemical Zoning of the Peschanka Porphyry–Epithermal System in the West of the Chukchi Peninsula

The results of chemical analyses and the data on core samples for 266 drill holes were used to identify the geochemical zoning of the Peschanka porphyry–epithermal system. A 3D model of geochemical zoning was developed using factor analysis and GIS technologies to represent the spatial distribution of elemental associations and mineral assemblages. The lateral and longitudinal zoning patterns are described. The AgPbZn: CuAuMo ratio is suggested as an indicator of vertical zoning that allows to evaluate the erosion level of porphyry copper stockworks.

Composition, Age, and Origin of Cretaceous Granitic Magmatism on the Eastern Chukchi Peninsula

New geochronological and isotopic geochemical data are given, which make it possible to recognize two types of granitic rocks on the eastern Chukchi Peninsula. Early Cretaceous Tkachen and Dolina granitic plutons with zircon ages (U–Pb SIMS) of 119–122 and 131–136 Ma are related to the first type. They cut through Devonian–Lower Carboniferous basement rocks and are overlain by the Aptian–Albian Etelkuyum Formation. Basal units of the latter contain fragments of granitic rocks. Late Cretaceous Provideniya and Rumilet granitic plutons, which contain zircons with ages of 94 and 85 Ma (U–Pb SIMS), respectively, belong to the second type. They cut through volcanic–sedimentary rocks of the Etelkuyum and Leurvaam formations pertaining to the Okhotsk–Chukotka Volcanic Belt. In petrographic and geochemical features, the Early Cretaceous granitic rocks of the Tkachen Pluton are commensurable with I-type granites, while Late Cretaceous granite of the Rumilet Pluton is comparable to A2-type granite. The Sr–Nd isotopic data provide evidence that from the Early Cretaceous Tkachen and Dolina plutons to the Late Cretaceous Provideniya and Rumilet plutons, the degree of crustal assimilation of suprasubduction mantle-derived melts increases up to partial melting of heterogeneous continental crust enriched in rubidium. An unconformity and various degrees of secondary alteration of volcanic–sedimentary rocks have been established in the Okhotsk–Chukotka Volcanic Belt, and this was apparently caused by transition of the tectonic setting from suprasubduction to a transform margin with local extension.

Mitochondrial Lineages of the Beluga Whale Delphinapterus leucas in the Russian Arctic

The data on mtDNA sequences of the beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) from the central Eastern Arctic as well as coastal waters of the Chukchi Peninsula and different parts of the White Sea are presented and analyzed for the first time. Certain sequences found in the region form a separate phylogenetic clade. The distinctness of composition of maternal lineages found for the White Sea is noted. However, the set of sequences found in the Russian Arctic in whole cannot be characterized as region-specific.

Age-Related Changes in Functional Teeth in the Pacific Walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens)

We examined functional teeth (except for upper canine teeth) of Pacific walruses that died or were harvested on the coast of the Chukchi Peninsula in 2005, 2007–2008, and 2010–2011. The dynamics of deposition of annual cement layers was investigated. The rate of cement deposition on the walls of tooth roots decreased significantly with age. The rate of its deposition on the lingual side of the upper teeth was much higher than that on their buccal side, but no such differences were observed on the lower teeth. The same cement layer was deposited unevenly in different parts of teeth (on its different sides and levels) with a general tendency of increasing in the width of the layer from the top to the lower parts of teeth. As a result of local widening of some cement layers with age, the tooth surface became rough, and knolls and rollers appeared there. As the age increased, external changes in teeth occurred: they became larger, more rounded, and heavier. We described a method for the preliminary determination of the relative age of walruses based on the ratio between the width of cement and dentin on the attrition surface of lower teeth (without cutting).

Mercury in organs of Pacific walruses (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) from the Bering Sea.

The Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) is still used as an important source of protein-rich food by indigenous peoples of Chukotka, Alaska, and other Arctic regions. Total mercury (THg) concentration was measured in eight internal organs of walruses. Samples were taken from 22 individuals (11 males and 11 females). Age of the animals ranged from 1 to 30years. All the walruses were harvested by local hunters from the coastal waters off the Chukchi Peninsula (Russia) during the autumn of 2011. Total mercury concentration in the samples was determined by atomic absorption method. No statistically significant difference in the level of mercury was found between males and females. Mercury was detected in all the organs of the studied walruses. The highest total mercury concentration was recorded from excretory organs: liver and kidneys. The level of mercury in liver (mean =1.87μg/g, range =0.05-5.87) was by an order of magnitude higher than in kidneys (mean =0.54μg/g, range =0.09-1.64.); in kidneys, it was by an order of magnitude higher than in the rest of the organs. The analyzed organs can be arranged in the order of decreasing Hg concentration as follows: liver >> kidney >> muscle > spleen ≥ heart ≥ intestine > lung ≥ testis. The mercury concentration values in walruses from the coastal waters off the Chukchi Peninsula are lower than those obtained from walruses in Alaska and the Canadian Arctic. Our findings may provide a basis for the further long-term monitoring of the condition of the Pacific walrus population and pollution of the Arctic ecosystem.