Solute fluxes in the Kidisjoki catchment, subarctic Finnish Lapland

• Published in: Géomorphologie : relief, processus, environnement
• Main Authors: Beylich, A.A., Schmidt, K.-H., Neuvonen, S., Forbich, I., Schildt, A.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Groupe Français de Geomorphologie, Paris 2006
• Subjects: solute fluxes; water balance; water chemistry; ground frost; subarctic environment; Finnish Lapland; Subarctic; Lapland
• Online Access: https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=2507; https://doi.org/10.4000/geomorphologie.163

Water balance, water chemistry, and solute fluxes have been investigated in the Kidisjoki catchment (18 km(2); 75 to 365 m a.s.l.; 69 degrees 47'N, 27 degrees 05'E) in subarctic Finnish Lapland. The study area is part of the Precambrian Baltic Shield and is composed lithologically of gneisses and granulites. It is estimated that chemical denudation in the catchment is on the order of 2.9 t.km(2).yr(-1). Spatio-temporal variability of solute yields within the catchment seems to be influenced by spatial variations of winter ground frost duration and regolith thickness. In spite of the low intensity of chemical weathering and the low solute concentrations in the surface water, chemical denudation seems to be more important than mechanical fluvial erosion, and so might be the most important denudational process in this subarctic environment.