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Carbon Isotope Signatures and Polyarenes in the Pedogenic Material of Ice Wedges of the Batagay Yedoma (Yakutia)

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Abstract

The carbon isotope signatures and the content of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the pedogenic material of inclusions in ice wedges of the Batagay yedoma (Yakutia) are studied. The mean concentration of 11 PAHs is 170 ppb (minimum, 7 ppb and maximum, 430 ppb) and the mean δ13С value in soil lipids is –29‰ (minimum, –31.1‰ and maximum, –26.2‰). The prevalent polyarenes in associations are naphthalene homologs and phenanthrene. Trace amounts of heavy PAHs, including benzo[a]pyrene (an indicator of pyrogenic processes), are also detectable. The PAH contents and δ13С values in ice wedges show the trend of a decrease with depth. The δ13С values and PAH content suggest a pedogenic origin of the deposit: therefore, PAHs originate from plant residues and wildfires. The observed trend of changes in the concentrations of polyarenes along the ice wedge may be associated with the changes in landscapes in the Late Pleistocene.

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authors thank N.I. Khlynina, E.V. Terskaya, and A.Yu. Trishin (Department of Landscape Geochemistry and Soil Geography, Faculty of Geography, Lomonosov Moscow State University) for their assistance in laboratory and field work.

Funding

The work was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (project no. 19-17-00126 on analysis of stable isotopes and project no. 19-77-30004 on PAH analysis) and the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (project no. 18-05-60272 Arctica on data generalization).

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  1. Lomonosov Moscow State University, 119991, Moscow, Russia

    Yu. K. Vasil’chuk, A. D. Belik, N. A. Budantseva, A. N. Gennadiev & J. Yu. Vasil’chuk

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  1. Yu. K. Vasil’chuk
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Translated by G. Chirikova

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Vasil’chuk, Y.K., Belik, A.D., Budantseva, N.A. et al. Carbon Isotope Signatures and Polyarenes in the Pedogenic Material of Ice Wedges of the Batagay Yedoma (Yakutia). Eurasian Soil Sc. 53, 187–196 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1134/S1064229320020143

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