First Data on Trace Element Composition of Water and Sediment in Watercourses and Lakes of the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago

For the first time the results of determination of 44 trace elements in water and suspended solids of watercourses and lakes of 5 bays of Novaya Zemlya Archipelago (Blagopoluchiya, Tsivolki, Stepovogo, Abrosimova and Medvezhiego) are presented. Low concentrations of dissolved trace elements were revealed in comparison with their concentrations in the rivers of the Russian Arctic. This is due to significantly suppressed chemical weathering on the archipelago due to the harsh climate and peculiarities of watershed rocks, as well as increased activity of sorption processes and sharply reduced concentrations of dissolved organics. A different situation is observed in terms of the content of the same trace elements in suspended sediments of watercourses and lakes. The similarity in the content of chemical elements in suspended sediments of watercourses and lakes and the main sedimentary rocks of catchments – ankeritolitic shales – directly points to them as the most important source of dissolved and suspended matter input into watercourses and lakes. A comparison of dissolved trace elements in the watercourses and lakes of Novaya Zemlya and the Kolyma River showed that the watercourses and lakes are significantly poorer in trace elements than the Kolyma river.