Evaluation of genetic components of Arctic Zone Rivers Flow Using Isotopic Approach

• Main Author: Grigoryeva, Elena
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2009
• Subjects: Arctic; Spitsbergen
• Online Access: https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/28406/; https://oceanrep.geomar.de/id/eprint/28406/1/2009_Grigorieva-Elena_MSc-Thesis_eng.pdf

The problem of a quantitative evaluation of genetic components of Arctic zone is difficult and diverse. That is caused, first of all, by a weak hydrological and hydro-geological level of researches of territory. Streamflow definition is especially complicated for the small rivers of Arctic regions (which watershed area less than 100 км2). Therefore in practice often resort to methods of numerical modelling in which frameworks definition of components of the rivers flow in the Arctic region is especially actual. In the work features of run-off generation of the small rivers of Arctic regions on an example of the rivers are considered: Groen (an island West Spitsbergen), Neglinka (Kareliya). Besides, their comparison with the river Tom' (a southeast part of West Siberian plain) is resulted. Research objective - to establish laws intra-annual and inter-seasonal (taking into account phases of a hydrological cycle) distributions of genetic components of flow of small Arctic zone rivers to an example of the rivers Groen and Neglinka and to compare them to river Tom' characteristics. Isotope tracers are useful tools for better understanding hydrological processes. The use of stable oxygen and hydrogen isotopes as tracers in hydrologic studies has expanded over the past five decades following the initial description of systematic variations in world precipitation, development of theory describing isotopic fractionation during evaporation, and testing and validation under arrange of field conditions and scales. The processes that impact the isotopic composition of precipitating water are phase changes and mixing in the various storage watersheds. The most conventional application of stable isotopes in smaller catchments is the identification of “old-water” and “new-water”, in other words distinguishing surface runoff (that rapidly reached the river stream) from base-flow (that was in contact with the groundwater for extended periods)[6,7,8]. Variations in the relative abundances of these isotopes, measured as 18O/16O and ...