Tab. 3: Differentiation of eroded material in the Arctic Russian Seas

Volumes of Holocene (10 000 years) terrigenous sediments and annnal sediment supply in the Laptev Sea were evaluated from average thickness of the Holocene veneer. Volumes of deposits supplied from various sediment sourees and by different proeesses (abrasion of hinterland and island shores, river discharge, eolian input, drifting ice) were diseriminating of deposition in the eoastal zone, at river/sea barrier, and in the shelf basin itself. Accumulation by drifting iee and the role of local sea bottom erosion were also considered. Total amount of sediments transported from the Laptev Sea shelf to Amundsen and Nansen Basins of the Aretie Ocean was compared with other Russian Aretie seas.

Composition of airborne material from yellow snow fallen in the Russian North

Large amounts of dust responsible for bright colors of atmospheric precipitation in the temperate, subpolar and polar zones of the northern hemisphere have been rarely observed. In the twentieth century and in the beginning of the twenty first century in the Northern European Russia such events were not registered up to March 25-26, 2008. At that time in some parts of the Arkhangel'sk region, Komi Republic, and Nenets Autonomous Area atmospheric precipitation as sleet and rain responsible for sand- and saffron colors of ice crust formation on the snow surface was observed. During detailed mineralogical, geochemical, pollen, diatom and meteorological investigations it was established that semidesert and steppe regions of the Northwest Kazakhstan, Volgograd and Astrakhan' regions, and Kalmykia are the main sources of the yellow dust.