Siberian Federal University

Issue

Journal of Siberian Federal University. Biology. 2023 16 (3)

Authors

Rogozin, Denis Yu.; Burdin, Leonid A.; Meydus, Artur V.

Contact information

Rogozin, Denis Yu.: Institute of Biophysics SB RAS, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS” Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation; ; ORCID: 0000-0002-9350-2936; Burdin, Leonid A.: Institute of Biophysics SB RAS, Federal Research Center “Krasnoyarsk Science Center SB RAS” Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation; Siberian Federal University Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation; Meydus, Artur V.: V.P. Astafyev Krasnoyarsk State Pedagogical University Krasnoyarsk, Russian Federation; ORCID: 0000-0003-4974-7909

Keywords

forest fires; charcoal; lake sediments; Tunguska 1908 Event

Abstract

The study analyzes distributions of macro-charcoal particles >100 μm and charcoal accumulation rate in the bottom sediments of a small shallow lake Suzdalevo, located in the southern part of the Evenkiysky District of Krasnoyarsk Krai, within the Tungussky Nature Reserve. These parameters are indicators of forest fires in the surrounding area. This lake is located in the zone of massive forest fall, which occurred on June 30, 1908, as a result of a powerful atmospheric explosion of unknown nature, called the “Tunguska catastrophe of 1908” (“Tunguska meteorite”). The sediments contained two major types of macro-charcoal particles. The first type included flat particles of various irregular shapes, interpreted as the remains of burnt leaves and, partially, wood. The second type included thin long particles, which were the remains of burnt grasses, leaves, and needles. The distribution and accumulation rate of the first type particles showed an increase in the deepest layers, corresponding to a time period older than 250 years ago. The accumulation rate of the second type particles noticeably increased in layers older than 180 years, while in younger layers it was insignificant. In sediments corresponding to 1908, no anomalies were found in the contents of macro-charcoal particles of both types. Thus, in the Lake Suzdalevo sediments, we did not find any traces of a vast fire that occurred at the time of the “Tunguska catastrophe of 1908”. A possible explanation may be that the fire did not spread as far as the lake, and the direction of the wind was not favorable for the coal particles to fall into the lake. In addition, there was no increase in the particle flux characteristic of a number of regions in the modern period, obviously because of the lack of economic activity and the extremely low presence of humans in this region

Pages

271–281

EDN

YUKQOS

Paper at repository of SibFU

https://elib.sfu-kras.ru/handle/2311/151774

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0).