Northeastern Yakutia Research Articles

Pleistocene Arctic megafaunal ecological engineering as a natural climate solution?

Natural climate solutions (NCS) in the Arctic hold the potential to be implemented at a scale able to substantially affect the global climate. The strong feedbacks between carbon-rich permafrost, climate and herbivory suggest an NCS consisting of reverting the current wet/moist moss and shrub-dominated tundra and the sparse forest-tundra ecotone to grassland through a guild of large herbivores. Grassland-dominated systems might delay permafrost thaw and reduce carbon emissions-especially in Yedoma regions, while increasing carbon capture through increased productivity and grass and forb deep root systems. Here we review the environmental context of megafaunal ecological engineering in the Arctic; explore the mechanisms through which it can help mitigate climate change; and estimate its potential-based on bison and horse, with the aim of evaluating the feasibility of generating an ecosystem shift that is economically viable in terms of carbon benefits and of sufficient scale to play a significant role in global climate change mitigation. Assuming a megafaunal-driven ecosystem shift we find support for a megafauna-based arctic NCS yielding substantial income in carbon markets. However, scaling up such projects to have a significant effect on the global climate is challenging given the large number of animals required over a short period of time. A first-cut business plan is presented based on practical information-costs and infrastructure-from Pleistocene Park (northeastern Yakutia, Russia). A 10 yr experimental phase incorporating three separate introductions of herds of approximately 1000 individuals each is costed at US$114 million, with potential returns of approximately 0.3-0.4% yr-1 towards the end of the period, and greater than 1% yr-1 after it. Institutional friction and the potential role of new technologies in the reintroductions are discussed. This article is part of the theme issue 'Climate change and ecosystems: threats, opportunities and solutions'.

Yukagirskie piktograficheskie pisma iz kollektsii Rossiyskogo etnograficheskogo muzeya

The Yukaghir pictography, letters on birch bark, so-called tos (lit. ‘birch bark’) includes letters of two types: those written by men, mostly descriptions of hunting routes, and those written by young women, mostly love letters. While the first type is quite widespread, the second one is very unusual, to the extent that researchers who deal with the history of writing have to single them out into a separate classification category. Almost everything that has been written on Yukaghir pictograms is based on the data collected by Samuil Shargorodskiy and Waldemar Jochelson in the 1890s in north-eastern Yakutia. The present publication introduces three toses of the first type (route maps) recently discovered in the collection of the Russian Museum of Ethnography in St Petersburg. The three toses were acquired by the museum in 1907 from Sergei Buturlin, a well-known ornithologist, together with a detailed commentary to the letters compiled by a member of the 1905 Kolyma expedition Ivan Shulga. The commentary is also published here.

Каменные глетчеры горных сооружений северо-востока Якутии

Каменные глетчеры горных сооружений северо-востока Якутии

Siberian tree-ring and stable isotope proxies as indicators of temperature and moisture changes after major stratospheric volcanic eruptions

Abstract. Stratospheric volcanic eruptions have far-reaching impacts on global climate and society. Tree rings can provide valuable climatic information on these impacts across different spatial and temporal scales. To detect temperature and hydroclimatic changes after strong stratospheric Common Era (CE) volcanic eruptions for the last 1500 years (535 CE unknown, 540 CE unknown, 1257 CE Samalas, 1640 CE Parker, 1815 CE Tambora, and 1991 CE Pinatubo), we measured and analyzed tree-ring width (TRW), maximum latewood density (MXD), cell wall thickness (CWT), and δ13C and δ18O in tree-ring cellulose chronologies of climate-sensitive larch trees from three different Siberian regions (northeastern Yakutia – YAK, eastern Taimyr – TAY, and Russian Altai – ALT). All tree-ring proxies proved to encode a significant and specific climatic signal of the growing season. Our findings suggest that TRW, MXD, and CWT show strong negative summer air temperature anomalies in 536, 541–542, and 1258–1259 at all studied regions. Based on δ13C, 536 was extremely humid at YAK, as was 537–538 in TAY. No extreme hydroclimatic anomalies occurred in Siberia after the volcanic eruptions in 1640, 1815, and 1991, except for 1817 at ALT. The signal stored in δ18O indicated significantly lower summer sunshine duration in 542 and 1258–1259 at YAK and 536 at ALT. Our results show that trees growing at YAK and ALT mainly responded the first year after the eruptions, whereas at TAY, the growth response occurred after 2 years. The fact that differences exist in climate responses to volcanic eruptions – both in space and time – underlines the added value of a multiple tree-ring proxy assessment. As such, the various indicators used clearly help to provide a more realistic picture of the impact of volcanic eruption on past climate dynamics, which is fundamental for an improved understanding of climate dynamics, but also for the validation of global climate models.

New Age Data on the Volcanic Rocks of the Alazey Plateau (Northeastern Yakutia)

The age of the rocks of the Cretaceous volcanogenic sequence of the Alazey Plateau, Kolyma–Indigirka Orogen of Northeastern Russia, is determined using U–Pb zircon dating on trachydacites and K–Ar feldspar–groundmass dating on dacites and basalts. The dacites of the Severnaya Sededema Formation, which was formed within volcanic belts, are dated as Aptian–Cenomanian (106–97 Ma), while the basalts of the Khangatas Formation yield the Paleocene age (59 Ma). These rocks mark the extension and rifting stage in the evolution of the region.

The fauna of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) of xeromorphic phytocoenoses in Central and North-Eastern Yakutia

The fauna of geometrid moths (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) of xeromorphic phytocoenoses in Central and North-Eastern Yakutia

New Data on the Composition of Cretaceous Volcanic Rocks of the Alazeya Plateau, Northeastern Yakutia

This work presents new data on the composition of volcanics, developed within the Alazeya Plateau of the Kolyma–Indigirka fold area (Northeast Russia), which indicate essential differences in their composition and, accordingly, different geodynamic settings of the formation of rocks. The studied igneous rocks are subdivided into two groups. Volcanics of the first group of the Late Cretaceous age, which are represented by differentiated volcanic rock series (from andesitobasalts to dacites and rhyolites), were formed under island arc conditions in the continent–ocean transition zone. Volcanics of the second group are ascribed to the tholeiitic series and were formed under the other geodynamic setting, which is associated with the regime of extension and riftogenesis, manifested in the studied area probably at the later stage.

Hydrobiological investigations of Kytalyk Wildlife Reserve polygonal ponds (North-Eastern Yakutia)

In the following article there are introduced the first researching results of 27 water bodies of polygonal tundra in Kytalyk Wildlife Reserve in the summer 2011. The evaluation of physic-hydrochemical indexes of water bodies is given. The basic structure-forming characteristics of zooplankton communities are analyzed. The ecological state of the lakes is estimated.

ОСОБЕННОСТИ РУССКОГО ЭПИЧЕСКОГО ФОЛЬКЛОРА НА СЕВЕРО-ВОСТОКЕ ЯКУТИИ

В статье рассматриваются особенности бытования русского эпического фольклора, зафиксированного на Колыме в Якутии. Для анализа используются варианты текстов, собранных Д. И. Меликовым в 1893 г.; В. Г. Богоразом в 1894 г.; а также – материалы, опубликованные в сборниках «Русская эпическая поэзия Сибири и Дальнего Востока», «Фольклор Русского Устья» [4, 6]. Для примера рассматривается былина о Добрыне Никитиче и Змее. Выясняется, что уже записи вариантов XIX в. разнятся. Так, в меликовском ва- рианте Змей мужского рода, в варианте Богораза Змеинища – женского рода. Происходит замена мотивов, например, когда вместо мотива «жары меженные» появляются в «жары крестовские». Совершенно очевидно, что былины Колымы имеют непосредственную связь с произведениями фоль- клора, бытовавшими на Русском Севере Европейской части России. Эти произведения фольклора отли- чает региональное своеобразие, так как они имеют отличие от вариантов былины, зафиксированных на Индигирке, о чем говорит Л. Н. Скрыбыкина [8]. Постепенно эпический фольклор был утрачен. Об этом свидетельствуют записи фольклора в 1982 г., когда часть вариантов приводились в прозе, отсутствовал ряд образов, мотивов, концовка произведения. Автор ссылается на ряд своих работ по данной тематике. Влияние якутского языка в былинах не про- явилось, хотя оно заметно в исторических песнях

DNA analysis of a 30,000-year-old Urocitellus glacialis from northeastern Siberia reveals phylogenetic relationships between ancient and present-day arctic ground squirrels

In contrast to the abundant fossil record of arctic ground squirrels, Urocitellus parryii, from eastern Beringia, only a limited number of fossils is known from its western part. In 1946, unnamed GULAG prisoners discovered a nest with three mummified carcasses of arctic ground squirrels in the permafrost sediments of the El’ga river, Yakutia, Russia, that were later attributed to a new species, Citellus (Urocitellus) glacialis Vinogr. To verify this assignment and to explore phylogenetic relationships between ancient and present-day arctic ground squirrels, we performed 14C dating and ancient DNA analyses of one of the El’ga mummies and four contemporaneous fossils from Duvanny Yar, northeastern Yakutia. Phylogenetic reconstructions, based on complete cytochrome b gene sequences of five Late Pleistocene arctic ground squirrels and those of modern U. parryii from 21 locations across western Beringia, provided no support for earlier proposals that ancient arctic ground squirrels from Siberia constitute a distinct species. In fact, we observed genetic continuity of the glacialis mitochondrial DNA lineage in modern U. parryii of the Kamchatka peninsula. When viewed in a broader geographic perspective, our findings provide new insights into the genetic history of U. parryii in Late Pleistocene Beringia.

Estimation and Sensitivity of Carbon Storage in Permafrost of North-Eastern Yakutia

Organic carbon derived from permafrost can provide a substrate for greenhouse gas production where the buried carbon pool thaws and mobilizes into biogeochemical cycles. Much attention has focused on the permafrost carbon of the Yedoma region of Siberia due to the wide distribution of organic and ice‐rich deposits. Here, we present a new estimation of carbon storage in the upper 25 m of permafrost in north‐eastern Yakutia based on a novel database of total carbon (TC) content, bulk density and ice content of permafrost, and a new map of Quaternary deposits derived from drilling data. The stratigraphic units contain 0.6–2.1% TC, with the highest concentrations in the Holocene cover layer and Late Pleistocene Yedoma superhorizon. The largest carbon pool is found in the Pliocene/Middle Pleistocene Olyor superhorizon. The TC pool of Yedoma is estimated to be 1.5–2 times less than that calculated previously. The TC pool of the study area is 31.2 ± 15.2 Pg C spread across 88 000 km2, with a mean specific carbon content of approximately 14.3 kg C m−3. Carbon storage is estimated excluding the ice‐wedge volume and, due to the limited data for Yedoma and Alas deposits, we present a maximal assessment of the carbon pool for the Yedoma region. Refinement of the size of the Yedoma TC pool is critical for quantifying the scale of permafrost feedback to the carbon cycle. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Обобщение результатов сейсморазведочных исследований Северо-Востока Якутии

Обобщение результатов сейсморазведочных исследований Северо-Востока Якутии

Анализ геолого-геофизической изученности потенциально нефтегазоносных районов Северо-Восточной Якутии и прилегающего шельфа Восточно-Арктических морей

Анализ геолого-геофизической изученности потенциально нефтегазоносных районов Северо-Восточной Якутии и прилегающего шельфа Восточно-Арктических морей

Regional coherency of boreal forest growth defines Arctic driftwood provenancing

Arctic driftwood represents a unique proxy archive at the interface of marine and terrestrial environments. Combined wood anatomical and dendrochronological analyses have been used to detect the origin of driftwood and may allow past timber floating activities, as well as past sea ice and ocean current dynamics to be reconstructed. However, the success of driftwood provenancing studies depends on the length, number, and quality of circumpolar boreal reference chronologies. Here, we introduce a Eurasian-wide high-latitude network of 286 ring width chronologies from the International Tree Ring Data Bank (ITRDB) and 160 additional sites comprising the three main boreal conifers Pinus, Larix, and Picea. We assess the correlation structure within the network to identify growth patterns in the catchment areas of large Eurasian rivers, the main driftwood deliverers. The occurrence of common growth patterns between and differing patterns within catchments indicates the importance of biogeographic zones for ring width formation and emphasizes the degree of spatial precision when provenancing. Reference chronologies covering millennial timescales are so far restricted to a few larch sites in Central and Eastern Siberia (eastern Taimyr, Yamal Peninsula and north-eastern Yakutia), as well as several pine sites in Scandinavia, where large rivers are missing though. The general good spatial coverage of tree-ring sites across northern Eurasia indicates the need for updating and extending existing chronologies rather than developing new sites.

Application of eco-physiological models to the climatic interpretation of δ13C and δ18O measured in Siberian larch tree-rings

Tree-ring width and stable isotopic composition are widely used for the reconstruction of environmental conditions. Eco-physiological models simulating δ13C and δ18O provide tools to constrain the interpretation of measured tree-ring variations and their relationships to environmental variables. Here, we apply biochemical models of photosynthesis and a model of stomatal conductance to simulate the intra-annual dynamics of δ13C values in photo assimilates and tree-rings. We use these models to investigate the physiological responses of larch trees growing on permafrost to variability in precipitation and permafrost depth associated with regional temperature and precipitation changes. Tree-ring width, δ13C and δ18O in wood and cellulose were measured in larch (Larix cajanderi Mayr.) samples from northeastern Yakutia (69°N, 148°E) for the period from 1945 to 2004 and used for comparisons with modeled δ13C and δ18O data.Mechanistic models that quantify physical and biochemical fractionation processes leading to oxygen isotope variation in organic matter are used to identify source water for trees growing on permafrost in Siberia. These models allowed us to investigate the influence of a variety of climatic factors on Siberian forest ecosystem water relations that impact isotope fractionation.Based on δ13C and δ18O in tree wood and cellulose measurements as well as outputs from different eco-physiological models, we assume that larch trees from northeastern Yakutia can have limited access to the additional thawed permafrost water during dry summer periods.

A contribution to the liverwort flora of Orulgan Range (North-Eastern Yakutia)

A contribution to the liverwort flora of Orulgan Range (North-Eastern Yakutia)

The first record of the thrips Thrips palustris Reut. (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) in Siberia

Thrips palustris O.M. Reuter, 1899 formerly known in Russia only from Karelia is recorded from the lower course of the Indigirka River (Northeastern Yakutia). This is the first record of the species from Siberia.

A cluster of stratospheric volcanic eruptions in the AD 530s recorded in Siberian tree rings

Recently published, improved chronologies for volcanic sulfate in Greenland and Antarctic ice permit a comparison of the growth responses of absolutely annually dated tree rings at three locations in Siberia with annual ice-core records of volcanic eruptions centered on AD 536. For the first time for this region and period, we present unique data sets for tree-ring width, cell-wall thickness, δ13C and δ18O in cellulose. These were based on multiple samples from relict wood of larch obtained from two sites close to the northern limit of tree growth on the Taimyr Peninsula and in northeastern Yakutia, and at a high-elevation, location 20° further South in the Altai Mts. An event in AD 536 was associated with different, but marked, changes in tree-ring parameters at the high-latitude sites compared with the high elevation site. An AD 541 event was associated with its own distinctive tree-ring responses across the three sites and multiple variables. The years after AD 532 were marked by a strong and sustained decrease in growth at the high-elevation, more southerly, site. The combination of improved ice-core chronology for the climatically effective volcanic eruptions of this part of the 6th century AD, and an array of tree-ring sites with different climates and multiple tree-ring variables permits a richer description of tree responses to this cluster of events. The pattern of tree-ring parameter responses at the three locations in AD 536, AD 541, and perhaps AD 532 is consistent with responses to climatically effective volcanic eruptions influencing tree response in those and subsequent years.

The first record of Thrips trybomi (Karny, 1908) (Thysanoptera, Thripidae) from Russia

Thrips trybomi (Karny, 1908) is recorded from Russia (Northeastern Yakutia) for the first time. A morphological description and identification key of this species are provided.

Duration of the prebreeding period and its relation to social organization of the sandpipers (Charadrii, Aves) nesting in northeastern Yakutia

The work was performed at two stations of the Ornithological Unit with the Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences in the Nizhnekolymsk raion, Yakutia, staring from May 18–20 in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990. The timing of the prebreeding period has been determined for 11 sandpiper species differing in their social organization and compared using allometric equations. Body weight was chosen as the characteristic for bird size. Sandpipers arrive to the tundra at almost critical temperatures to begin breeding as early as possible. The timing of breeding depends on the foraging mode and distance to the overwintering areas. The duration of the prebreeding period is constant for each individual species and sex. The jointly nesting sandpipers display sex-dependent differences in the time spent for the prebreeding period. The exponents in allometric equations that relate duration of the prebreeding period with body weight are constant for a particular sex and differ between males and females. The time spent for prebreeding by the birds of different sexes depends on mating, parental, and territorial systems. The type of social organization of a species determines the time spent by male and female sandpipers for the prebreeding period. Relatively large-sized sandpiper species tend to reduce the calendar period for prebreeding, which imposes constraints on their social organization. Monogamy and joint parental care requires that the spatial structure of the population is more strictly controlled and retained for a longer time, thereby extending the time spent by males for this type of behavior.