Snow Patches and Their Influence on Coastal Erosion at Baydaratskaya Bay Coast, Kara Sea, Russian Arctic
1
Geoecology of the Northern Territories, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russia
2
Geocryology Department, Faculty of Geology, Lomonosov Moscow State University, GSP-1, Leninskie Gory, Moscow 119991, Russia
*
Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editor: Serafeim E. Poulos
Water 2021, 13(10), 1432; https://doi.org/10.3390/w13101432
Received: 26 April 2021
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Revised: 15 May 2021
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Accepted: 17 May 2021
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Published: 20 May 2021
(This article belongs to the Section Oceans and Coastal Zones)
The Arctic coastal environment is a very dynamic system and sensitive to any changes. In our research we demonstrate that nivation (snow patch activity) impacts the Arctic landscape especially in the coastal dynamic at the western part of Russian Arctic. During fieldwork, snowbanks were described and studied and their qualitative role in the development of coastal systems was revealed for Baydaratskaya Bay coast, the Kara Sea. On one side, the large snow cover protects the coastal slope from thermodenudation and thermoabrasion; on the other side, a thick layer of snow affects the ground temperature regime. During snow melting, snow patches contribute to the removal of material from the coastal slope. The quantitative effect of snow on the ground temperature regime was assessed according to numerical simulations. The critical snow thickness was determined based on a calculation. Critical snow thicknesses based on simulation and field data correlated well. The numerical simulation showed the talik formation under the snow patch. Talik size essentially depends on the freezing temperature of sediment (influenced by salinity). The changes of ground temperature regime might further generate thawing settlement of sediment under snow and contribute to beach topography, which might be a trigger for thermoabrasion.
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Keywords:
Arctic coast; snow patch; numerical simulation; Kara Sea
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MDPI and ACS Style
Bogatova, D.; Buldovich, S.; Khilimonyuk, V. Snow Patches and Their Influence on Coastal Erosion at Baydaratskaya Bay Coast, Kara Sea, Russian Arctic. Water 2021, 13, 1432. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13101432
AMA Style
Bogatova D, Buldovich S, Khilimonyuk V. Snow Patches and Their Influence on Coastal Erosion at Baydaratskaya Bay Coast, Kara Sea, Russian Arctic. Water. 2021; 13(10):1432. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13101432
Chicago/Turabian StyleBogatova, Daria, Sergey Buldovich, and Vanda Khilimonyuk. 2021. "Snow Patches and Their Influence on Coastal Erosion at Baydaratskaya Bay Coast, Kara Sea, Russian Arctic" Water 13, no. 10: 1432. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13101432
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