Talnakh

Created: 2014-01-27 12:58:06
Modified: 2014-01-27 13:08:38

SITE DESCRIPTION

Talnakh grid (R32) is located (69o26’01” N, 88o28’03” E) in the northern part of Eastern Siberia on Taimyr Peninsula (Figure 1), at Noril-Rybnin interfluve, about 2.5 km south-east of the settlement of Talnakh (Norilsk Industrial Region). Kharaelakh Ridge of Putorana Mountains lays 1.5 km north of the site. The site is situated on a fluvial terrace, characterized by loamy soils and underlined by low-temperature, continuous permafrost (Sheveleva & Khomichvskaya 1967, Ershov 1991). The climate of the region is temperate continental with prolong and snowy winters and short cool summers (Tushinskiy & Davydova 1976). On average the period with negative mean daily air temperatures extends to 245 days. Mean annual air temperature is -9,8оС. Mean air temperature of the coldest month (January) is -27.6оС, of the warmest month (July) is +13.4oC. Average annual wind speed is 6.3 m/s and annual sum of precipitation is 340 mm/yr. The climatologically average maximum snow-cover thickness is 80 cm. The grid  situated on subhorizontal surface with elevation decreasing in south-east direction. The small frost mound (pingo) 30 m in diameter and 1.5 m high occupies the portion of the site. The frost mound is surrounded by flow depressions and polygonized peatlands. The size of polygons varies between 6 to 8 m across. Hummocks up to 20 cm height and hillocks up to 60-70 cm height are widely present. Typical tundra vegetation occupies the site and consists of shrubs, dwarf-shrub and sedges. Mosses and likens are largely absent from the site. The environmental and geocryologic conditions of the site closely correspond to those of the south-western part of Taimyr Peninsula.

SAMPLING DESIGN AND METHOD:

1-ha grid consists of a square array of surveyed permanent stakes separated by 10 m, yielding an 11 × 11 array of sampling nodes on each grid. Thaw depth and snow sampling was conducted twice by manual probing at each stake. The two values for each sampling point are averaged, yielding a maximum of 121 data points per grid per probing date. The active layer was not measured at locations where grid points intersect rocks or deep water.