A database of water chemistry in eastern Siberian rivers

Abstract

Permafrost degradation leads to considerable changes in river ecosystems. The Eastern Siberian River Chemistry (ESRC) database was constructed to create a spatially extensive river chemistry database to assess climate warming-induced changes in freshwater systems in permafrost-dominated eastern Siberia. The database includes 9487 major ion (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, Cl^-, SO₄^2- and HCO₃^-) data of chemical results from 1434 water samples collected mainly in six large river basins in eastern Siberia spanning 1940-2019. Data were obtained from public databases, scientific literature in English and Russian, and researchers and were formatted with a consistent table structure. The database is transparent and reproducible. Climate variable (air temperature and precipitation) data, discharge data, trace element concentration data, and isotope data at the basin and subbasin scales are also provided. This database enhances knowledge about the water chemistry of the permafrost region, especially in eastern Siberia, where data are scarce. The database will be useful to those assessing spatiotemporal changes in river water chemistry associated with permafrost degradation or other environmental stressors in a warmer climate.

Fig. 1

Map showing the water sample locations for the Eastern Siberian River Chemistry (ESRC) database. The green dots represent the sampling location, and the 5 different sizes of dots represent the sample amount; the six coloured sections represent different river basins; the black line corresponds to the eastern Siberia boundary; the grey gradient represents the elevation change, and the blue line shows the river system of each river basin.

Fig. 2

Subbasin location map in eastern Siberia. The six coloured sections represent different river basins; the bold black line corresponds to the eastern Siberian boundary; the thin black line represents the subbasin boundary; the numbers in the figure indicate the subbasin numbers from the HydroBASINS shapefile.

Fig. 3

Workflow for Eastern Siberian River Chemistry (ESRC) database.

Fig. 4

Validation of monthly gridded data against observed data from meteorological stations: (a) CRU temperature versus observed temperature; (b) GPCC precipitation versus observed precipitation.