Climate warming enhances chemical weathering in permafrost-dominated eastern Siberia

Ping Wang; Qiwei Huang; Shiqi Liu; Yu Liu; Zehong Li; Sergey P Pozdniakov; Tianye Wang; Ekaterina S Kazak; Natalia L Frolova; Olga I Gabysheva; Jialing Zhang; Bing Bai; Jingjie Yu; Leilei Min; Raisa N Shpakova; Lingang Hao; Viktor A Gabyshev

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167367

Climate warming enhances chemical weathering in permafrost-dominated eastern Siberia

Sci Total Environ. 2024 Jan 1:906:167367. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167367. Epub 2023 Sep 27.

Authors

Ping Wang¹, Qiwei Huang¹, Shiqi Liu², Yu Liu³, Zehong Li¹, Sergey P Pozdniakov⁴, Tianye Wang⁵, Ekaterina S Kazak⁴, Natalia L Frolova⁶, Olga I Gabysheva⁷, Jialing Zhang¹, Bing Bai¹, Jingjie Yu¹, Leilei Min⁸, Raisa N Shpakova⁹, Lingang Hao¹, Viktor A Gabyshev⁷

Affiliations

¹ Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China.
² Key Laboratory of Water Cycle and Related Land Surface Processes, Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 11A, Datun Road, Chaoyang District, Beijing 100101, China. Electronic address: liusq@igsnrr.ac.cn.
³ Linköping University - Guangzhou University Research Center on Urban Sustainable Development, School of Environmental Science and Engineering, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006, China.
⁴ Department of Hydrogeology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119899, Russia.
⁵ School of Water Conservancy and Transportation, Zhengzhou University, 100 Science Avenue, Zhengzhou, Henan 450001, China.
⁶ Department of Land Hydrology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russia.
⁷ Institute for Biological Problems of Cryolithozone, Siberian Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, Yakutsk 677980, Russia.
⁸ Key Laboratory of Agricultural Water Resources, Hebei Key Laboratory for Water-Saving Agriculture, Center for Agricultural Resources Research, Institute of Genetics and Developmental Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shijiazhuang 050021, China.
⁹ Regional Governance and National Policy Department, Moscow State Institute of International Relations, 76, Prospect Vernadskogo, Moscow 119454, Russia.

PMID: 37774887
DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.167367

Abstract

Understanding the impacts of climate warming on hydrogeochemical processes, particularly in areas dominated by permafrost, is crucial. However, the natural background levels of chemical components in eastern Siberian rivers from permafrost-dominated regions and their responses to climate warming have not been adequately quantified. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by using a comprehensive river water chemistry database (n = 1264) spanning from 1940 to 2019. Our results reveal that the concentration of total dissolved solids (TDS), a key parameter of drinking water quality, in river basins predominantly free of permafrost (194.6 ± 256.4 mg/L) is approximately 2.3 times higher than in permafrost-dominated river basins (83.7 ± 35.8 mg/L) in eastern Siberia. These observations imply potential shifts in freshwater quality resulting from permafrost degradation. We further detect that carbonate weathering, which plays a fundamental role in the global carbon cycle, is a predominant process controlling hydrogeochemical cycles. (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺) concentrations as a proxy for carbonate weathering intensity are sensitive to climate warming, increasing at a rate of 0.10 mmol/(L·°C). This finding provides evidence that the current acceleration of carbonate weathering, driven by climate warming, is already influencing local water quality. Additionally, (Ca²⁺ + Mg²⁺) concentrations and TDS are highly interrelated with temperature-dependent variables (e.g., active layer thickness of permafrost and leaf area index) and basin erosion-controlling factors (e.g., precipitation, elevation and slope of basin). Under a warming climate, river chemical fluxes (e.g., export of TDS and major ions) increase notably, especially during the winter, indicating an increase in mineral-laden groundwater discharge to rivers due to permafrost degradation. Our results demonstrate that climate warming is accelerating hydrogeochemical processes in permafrost-dominated Arctic basins.

Keywords: Chemical weathering; Climate warming; Eastern Siberian rivers; Permafrost degradation.