Hydrogeochemical and Biogeochemical Processes in Kaffiøyra River Catchments (Spitsbergen, Norway)

The paper presents the results of hydrogeochemical and biogeochemical studies in the area of Kaffiøyra river catchments in the ablation season 2004. Vegetation, hydrological regime, mineralization and ionic composition of circulating waters, rate of annual chemical denudation and biogenic CO₂ content in soil air in relation to the concentration of dissolved and transported HCO3 - ions were documented. The waters represented the type HCO₃ - - SO₄^2- - Ca²⁺ - Mg²⁺. Most of ions showed a good correlation with electrical conductivity. A good correlation between dissolved and transported mass and the discharge was shown. The value of the chemical denudation in non-glacierized catchments of the Kaffiøyra plain was 0.07 and 0.13 t km^-2 d^-1, in glacierized catchment - 0,21 t km^-2 d^-1. The biogenic CO₂ concentrations in tundra soil air ranged from 0.03-0.08%, while the average was 0.046%. The mean rate of CO₂ ionic transport was 3 kg d^-1, while of HCO₃ - - 0.63 t d^-1. A low correlation between the concentration of biogenic CO₂ in soil air and HCO₃ - was found, which indicates the involvement of other, unexamined bio- and physico-chemical processes.