Spartakovskoye Lake is the disappearing Little Ice Age periglacial lake on the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago

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Abstract

The last two releases of water from the periglacial Spartakovskoye Lake on Bolshevik Island (Severnaya Zemlya archipelago) were recorded in 2016 and 2021. After water release in 2016, observations of the lake level began. In 2021, almost complete draining of the lake was recorded by hourly images from a camera installed on the northern slope of the lake valley. The water flow through intraglacial channels from the lake of 0.33 km3 was up to 1590 m3/s during 57 hours of active drainage. Lake sediments accumulated 250–300 years ago were practically destroyed in just two to three months in 2021 and 2022 by active erosive, accumulative and slope processes at the bottom of after the lake emptied. The complete devastation of the lake was the first event after the damming of the lake by an outlet glacier at the beginning of the Little Ice Age (LIA), which began on the Severnaya Zemlya archipelago around 1600 AD. This means that at the end of the LIA, the periglacial lake is at the stage of degradation of the outlet glacier. Now it should be expected more frequent emptying of the lake instead of the previous periodic 5–10 year decreases in lake level.

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About the authors

D. Yu. Bolshiyanov

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Author for correspondence.
Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

A. S. Paramzin

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

I. S. Yozhikov

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

I. D. Koblashov

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

A. O. Aksenov

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

V. A. Merkulov

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

S. V. Khotchenkov

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

V. T. Sokolov

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

A. A. Nyubom

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

N. L. Sekisov

Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

D. V. Berdinskikh

St. Petersburg State University

Email: bolshiyanov@aari.ru
Russian Federation, St. Petersburg

References

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  2. Bolshiyanov D.Yu. Passivnoe oledenenie Arktiki i Antarktidy. Passive glaciation of the Arctic and Antarctica. St. Petersburg: AANII, 2006: 292 p. [In Russian].
  3. Bolshiyanov D.Yu., Makeev V.M. Arhipelag Severnaya Zemlya: oledenenie, istoriya razvitiya prirodnoj sredy. The Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago glaciation, the history of the development of the natural environment. St. Petersburg: Roshydromet, 1995: 216 p. [In Russian].
  4. Bolshiyanov D.Yu., Bulatov R.K. Renewal of glaciological investigation on the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago. Rossiiskie polyarnye issledovaniya. Russian Polar Investigation. 2014, 3 (17): 14–17 [In Russian].
  5. Bolshiyanov D.Yu., Sokolov V.T., Jozhikov I.S., Bulatov R.K., Rachkova A.N., Fedorov G.B., Paramzin A.S. Conditions of the alimentation and the variability of glaciers of the Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago from observations of 2014–2015. Led i Sneg. Ice and Snow. 2016, 56 (3): 358–368. https://doi.org/10.15356/2076-6734-2016-3-358-368 [In Russian].
  6. Govorukha L.S., Bolshiyanov D.Yu., Zarkhidze V.S., Pinchuk L.Ya., Yunak R.I. Changes in the Severnaya Zemlya glacier cover in the twentieth century. Materialy glyaciologicheskih issledovanii. Data of Glaciological Studies. 1987, 60: 155–158 [In Russian].
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Supplementary files

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2. Fig. 1. Sketch map of the Spartakovskoye Lake (а), measurement profiles with hydrological observation points (б) at the lake level of 100 m a.s.l. in May 2021. 1 – outlet glacier, 2 – passive glacier, 3 – ice flow directions, 4 – cracks in glacier, 5 – ice stakes, which in 2016 had elevations 141, 142, 139 m a.s.l. from west to east and 261 m in the upper part of the outlet glacier, 6 – lake shoreline in July 2017, 7 – periglacial lake, 8 – slightly turbid water in fjord just after drainage of the lake in 27.08.2016, 9 – starting points of lake sounding in May 2021, 10 – number of sounding profile, 11 – outlet glacier outline on the map of 1982, 12 – depth of sounding point (m), 13 – isobaths, 14 – location of the camera, 15 – location of the seismograph, 16 – site of marine sediments sampling for IR-OSL dating, 17 – bottom profile with sounding points, 18 – water temperature curve, 19 – hydrological observation points

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3. Fig. 2. Eastern part of Spartakovskoye Lake during filling in 2023 after draining in 2021: (а) Late Pleistocene (Kazantsevo age) marine terrace, marked by yellow-greyish lake sediments in the fjord valley; (б) black icebergs and fragments of water flow tunnels in icebergs developed in the body of the outlet glacier during the lake drainage in 2021. Photo by A.S. Paramzin, 2023

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4. Fig. 3. Seismograph signals that recorded glacier movements and, possibly, water flow inside the glacier from May 1st to May 9th of 2016

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5. Fig. 4. Iceberg with oval cross-sectional fragments of water flow channels in 2023 (а); a refrozen tunnel in the glacier cliff wall in April 2016 (б). Photo by A.S. Paramzin, 2023, D.Yu. Bolshiyanov, 2016

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6. Fig. 5. Core from the upper part of the lake sediments of Spartakovskoye Lake. 1 – varved clay silt, 2 – grain of debris of 10 mm size, 3 – gravel of 2–10 mm size, 4 – coase-grained sand, 5 – suggested boundaries of the layers reflecting the drainage lake events

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7. Fig. 6. (а) Panorama of the drained lake in July 2022; (б) section of lake sediments on the bottom of drained lake in September 2021; (в) section of sediments in July 2022. Photo by G.B. Lebedev, 2022, I.S. Yozhikov, 2021

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