Dynamics and History of the Laptev Sea and its Continental
Hinterland: A Summary
J. Thiede l/4 , L. Timokhov 2 , H.A. Bauchl, D.Y. Bolshiyanov 2 , I. Dmitrenko 2 ,
H. Eicken 3 , K. Fahl 4 , A. Gukov s , J. HOiemann l , H.-W. Hubberten 6 , K. v. Juterzenka 7 ,
H. Kassensl, M. Melles 6 , V. Petryashov 8 , S. Pivovarov 2 , S. Priamikov 2 , V. Rachold 6 ,
M. Schmid 7 , C. Siegert 6 , M. Spindler 7 , R. Stein 4 and Scientific Party
( 1) GEOMAR F orschungszentrum fur marine Geowissenschaften, Wischhof~trasse 1 -3, D 24148 Kiel,
Germany
(2) State Research Center - Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, 38 Bering St., 199226 St.Petersburg,
Russia
(3) Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Dr., P.O. Box 75732(}, Fairbanks,
AK 99775-7320, USA
(4) Alfred-Wegener-Institutfur Polar- und Meere;forschung, Postfach 120161, D 27568 Bremerhaven,
Germany
(5) Lena-Delta State Reserve, 28 Fiodorova St., 678400 Tiksi, Yakutia, Russia
(6) Alfred- Wegener-Institut fur Polar- Meeresforschung, Forschungsstelle Potsdam, Telegraflmberg A43,
D 14473 Potsdam, Germany
(7) 1nstitut fur Polariikologie, Universitdt Kiel, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, D 24148 Kiel, Germany
(8) Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, I Universitetskaya, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
Abstract - Russian and German scientists have investigated the extreme environmental
system in and around the Laptev Sea in the Siberian Arctic. For the first time a major
comprehensive research program combining the efforts of several projects addressed both
oceanic and terrestrial processes, and their consequences for marine and terrestrial biota,
landscape evolution as well as land-ocean interactions. The primary scientific goal of the
multidisciplinary program was to decipher past climate variations and their impact on
contemporary environmental changes. Extensive studies of the atmosphere, sea ice, water
column, and sea-floor on the Laptev Sea Shelf, as well as of the vegetation, soil
development, carbon cycle, permafrost behaviour and lake hydrology, and sedimentation on
Taymyr Peninsula and Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago were perfonned during the past years
under a framework of joint research activities. They included land and marine expeditions
during spring (melting), summer (ice free), and autumn (freezing) seasons. The close
bilateral cooperation between many institutions in Russia and Germany succeeded in
drawing a picture of important processes shaping the marine and terrestrial environment in
northern Central Siberia in Late Quaternary time. The success of the projects, which ended
in late 1997, resulted in the definition and establishment of a new major research effort
which will concentrate on establishing a better understanding of the paleoclimatic and
paleoenvironmental record of the area. This is important because it allows to he ahle to
judge rates and extremes of potential future environmental changes.
Introduction
Mankind has an eminent interest in establishing forecasts within whose ranges its own living
conditions may change in the foreseeable future. Geological synoptic reconstructions and
climate modelling have shown independently that the polar latitudes of the northern hemisphere,
in particular its marginal seas and adjacent continents, are apt to drastic and fast changes. There
is growing concern about the reaction of the Arctic system to global environmental change and
the impact of this change on future climate development. In this sense the shallow Laptev Sea
Shelf, ice free only during few summer months, and its Siberian hinterland are of particular
interest, because here riverine outflow acts as important freshwater source for the halocline and
sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean proper. Climate dependent environmental changes in the
Laptev Sea itself are strongly controlled by changes in the terrestrial environment of its
In: Kassens. H., H.A. Bauch. I. Dmitrenko, H. Eicken, H.-W. Hubberten, M. Melles, J. Thiede and L. Timokhov (eds.)
Land-Ocean Systems in the Siberian Arctic: Dynamics and History. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1999,695-711.
Hinterland: A Summary
J. Thiede l/4 , L. Timokhov 2 , H.A. Bauchl, D.Y. Bolshiyanov 2 , I. Dmitrenko 2 ,
H. Eicken 3 , K. Fahl 4 , A. Gukov s , J. HOiemann l , H.-W. Hubberten 6 , K. v. Juterzenka 7 ,
H. Kassensl, M. Melles 6 , V. Petryashov 8 , S. Pivovarov 2 , S. Priamikov 2 , V. Rachold 6 ,
M. Schmid 7 , C. Siegert 6 , M. Spindler 7 , R. Stein 4 and Scientific Party
( 1) GEOMAR F orschungszentrum fur marine Geowissenschaften, Wischhof~trasse 1 -3, D 24148 Kiel,
Germany
(2) State Research Center - Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute, 38 Bering St., 199226 St.Petersburg,
Russia
(3) Geophysical Institute, University of Alaska Fairbanks, 903 Koyukuk Dr., P.O. Box 75732(}, Fairbanks,
AK 99775-7320, USA
(4) Alfred-Wegener-Institutfur Polar- und Meere;forschung, Postfach 120161, D 27568 Bremerhaven,
Germany
(5) Lena-Delta State Reserve, 28 Fiodorova St., 678400 Tiksi, Yakutia, Russia
(6) Alfred- Wegener-Institut fur Polar- Meeresforschung, Forschungsstelle Potsdam, Telegraflmberg A43,
D 14473 Potsdam, Germany
(7) 1nstitut fur Polariikologie, Universitdt Kiel, Wischhofstrasse 1-3, D 24148 Kiel, Germany
(8) Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, I Universitetskaya, 199034 St. Petersburg, Russia
Abstract - Russian and German scientists have investigated the extreme environmental
system in and around the Laptev Sea in the Siberian Arctic. For the first time a major
comprehensive research program combining the efforts of several projects addressed both
oceanic and terrestrial processes, and their consequences for marine and terrestrial biota,
landscape evolution as well as land-ocean interactions. The primary scientific goal of the
multidisciplinary program was to decipher past climate variations and their impact on
contemporary environmental changes. Extensive studies of the atmosphere, sea ice, water
column, and sea-floor on the Laptev Sea Shelf, as well as of the vegetation, soil
development, carbon cycle, permafrost behaviour and lake hydrology, and sedimentation on
Taymyr Peninsula and Severnaya Zemlya Archipelago were perfonned during the past years
under a framework of joint research activities. They included land and marine expeditions
during spring (melting), summer (ice free), and autumn (freezing) seasons. The close
bilateral cooperation between many institutions in Russia and Germany succeeded in
drawing a picture of important processes shaping the marine and terrestrial environment in
northern Central Siberia in Late Quaternary time. The success of the projects, which ended
in late 1997, resulted in the definition and establishment of a new major research effort
which will concentrate on establishing a better understanding of the paleoclimatic and
paleoenvironmental record of the area. This is important because it allows to he ahle to
judge rates and extremes of potential future environmental changes.
Introduction
Mankind has an eminent interest in establishing forecasts within whose ranges its own living
conditions may change in the foreseeable future. Geological synoptic reconstructions and
climate modelling have shown independently that the polar latitudes of the northern hemisphere,
in particular its marginal seas and adjacent continents, are apt to drastic and fast changes. There
is growing concern about the reaction of the Arctic system to global environmental change and
the impact of this change on future climate development. In this sense the shallow Laptev Sea
Shelf, ice free only during few summer months, and its Siberian hinterland are of particular
interest, because here riverine outflow acts as important freshwater source for the halocline and
sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean proper. Climate dependent environmental changes in the
Laptev Sea itself are strongly controlled by changes in the terrestrial environment of its
In: Kassens. H., H.A. Bauch. I. Dmitrenko, H. Eicken, H.-W. Hubberten, M. Melles, J. Thiede and L. Timokhov (eds.)
Land-Ocean Systems in the Siberian Arctic: Dynamics and History. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1999,695-711.