GAS COMPOSITION AND MICROORGANISMS OF GROUND ICE IN RUSSIAN ARCTIC

• Published in: Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University Geo Assets Engineering
• Main Authors: Vladislav I. Butakov, Elena A. Slagoda, Mikhail D. Zavatsky, Vadim I. Ivanov
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: Russian
• Published: Tomsk Polytechnic University 2023
• Subjects: Greenhouse gases; ground ice; biogenic methane; carbon dioxide; gas-saturated deposits; thermal vacuum degassing method; Engineering geology. Rock mechanics. Soil mechanics. Underground construction; TA703-712; Arctic; Rus’; Yakutia; Siberia
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.18799/24131830/2023/9/4084; https://doaj.org/article/c923da6fe13442bdba63e4e6eac1a7c7

Link for citation: Butakov V.I., Slagoda E.A., Zavatsky M.D., Ivanov V.I. Gas composition and microorganisms of ground ice in Russian Arctic. Bulletin of the Tomsk Polytechnic University. Geo Аssets Engineering, 2023, vol. 334, no. 9, рр. 63-75. In Rus. Relevance. The increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere is a fundamental problem on a planetary scale. The source of greenhouse gases in the subsurface horizon of soil can be both deep deposits of hydrocarbons and organic matter processed by microorganisms during the thawing of the ice-rich soil. To determine the source of the gas it is necessary to examine both its quantity and composition and the microorganism content in the subsurface ice. Taking into account the dynamic development of the energy complex in the north of Western Siberia it is necessary to take into account the geotechnical risks associated with the release of greenhouse gases from frozen deposits. Purpose: to study the composition and identify the sources of greenhouse gases in the ice and the ice-rich soil on account of the ice formation conditions and the microorganism content. Objects: ice wedge, hydrogenic and segregational genesis of ice, ice-rich soil of northern Western Siberia and Central Yakutia, collected by expeditions Earth Cryosphere Institute, Tyumen scientific center SB RAS in 2011–2021. Methods of research and interpretation of chemical composition. The structure of frozen deposits has been investigated by cryolitological methods. The monoliths of the ice and the frozen deposits were stored at –18 °C. Gas was extracted from the monoliths with the determination of volume fraction by thermovacuum degassing method. The composition of gases is determined by gas chromatography. Normalization of the gas composition with solubility values in water was carried out. Volume fractions of gas in free and dissolved forms was calculated. The data processing were implemented by means of «Geochem Anomaly» program. Cultivated psychrophilic microorganisms were studied ...