Abstract. In order to better understand the chemical composition of snow and its impact on surface water hydrochemistry in the poorly studied Western Siberia Lowland (WSL), the surface layer of snow was sampled in February 2014 across a 1700 km latitudinal gradient (ca. 56.5 to 68 • N). We aimed at assessing the latitudinal effect on both dissolved and particulate forms of elements in snow and quantifying the impact of atmospheric input to element storage and export fluxes in inland waters of the WSL. The concentration of dissolved+colloidal (< 0.45 µm) Fe, Co, Cu, As and La increased by a factor of 2 to 5 north of 63 • N compared to southern regions. The pH and dissolved Ca, Mg, Sr, Mo and U in snow water increased with the rise in concentrations of particulate fraction (PF). Principal component analyses of major and trace element concentrations in both dissolved and particulate fractions revealed two factors not linked to the latitude. A hierarchical cluster analysis yielded several groups of elements that originated from alumino-silicate mineral matrix, carbonate minerals and marine aerosols or belonging to volatile atmospheric heavy metals, labile elements from weatherable minerals and nutrients. The main sources of mineral components in PF are desert and semi-desert regions of central Asia.The snow water concentrations of DIC, Cl, SO 4 , Mg, Ca, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Mo, Cd, Sb, Cs, W, Pb and U exceeded or were comparable with springtime concentrations in thermokarst lakes of the permafrost-affected WSL zone. The springtime river fluxes of DIC, Cl, SO 4 , Na, Mg, Ca, Rb, Cs, metals (Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd, Pb), metalloids (As, Sb), Mo and U in the discontinuous to continuous permafrost zone (64-68 • N) can be explained solely by melting of accumulated snow. The impact of snow deposition on riverine fluxes of elements strongly increased northward, in discontinuous and continuous permafrost zones of frozen peat bogs. This was consistent with the decrease in the impact of rock lithology on river chemical composition in the permafrost zone of the WSL, relative to the permafrost-free regions. Therefore, the present study demonstrates significant and previously underestimated atmospheric input of many major and trace elements to their riverine fluxes during spring floods. A broader impact of this result is that current estimations of river water fluxes response to climate warming in high latitudes may be unwarranted without detailed analysis of winter precipitation.

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Structural features and distribution of framboidal pyrite were studied during lithological, mineralogical and geochemical studies of sediments in the South Caspian Basin. The lithological and geochemical parameters affecting the intensity of the formation of authigenic pyrite in sediments of the South Caspian Basin under conditions of hydrogen sulfide contamination were determined. According to X-ray diffraction (XRD), the content of pyrite in pelitic ooze reaches 4%. Microscopic studies have shown that pyrite formation occurs intensively in sediments with a high content of biogenic mineral components, such as opal diatom frustules and calcite plates of coccolithophores. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) has demonstrated the presence of spherical pyrite framboids, as well as individual pyrite crystallites and their disordered clusters of various shapes. The diameter of the framboids varies from 3 to 10 microns. Pyrite crystallites have subspherical, complicated polyhedral, prismatic, octahedral, pentagonal dodekahedron shapes. The crystallite sizes range from 0.5 to 3 microns. Based on geochemical data, there is no direct correlation between the intensity of pyrite formation and the high content of such components as Fe and C org in bottom sediments. We assume that the formation of authigenic framboid pyrite in surface sediments (including the fluffy layer) is most likely due to the presence of hydrogen sulfide contamination in the near bottom water of the South Caspian Basin. Framboidal pyrite in the deeper layers (up to a depth of 35 cm) is the result of diagenetic processes that occur in accordance with the classical scheme of vertical zonality of diagenetic transformations in sediments.

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Abstract. Towards a better understanding of chemical composition of snow and its impact on surface water hydrochemistry in poorly studied Western Siberia Lowland (WSL), dissolved (melted snow) and particulate (> 0.45 μm) fractions of snow were sampled in February 2014 across a 1700-km latitudinal gradient (c.a. 56.5 to 68° N) in essentially pristine regions. Concentration of dissolved Fe, Co, Cu, As, La, increased by a factor of 2 to 5 north of 63° N. The pH, Ca, Mg, Sr, Mo and U dissolved concentration in snow water increased with the increase in concentration of particulate fraction (PF), which was also correlated with the increase in calcite and dolomite proportion in the mineral fraction, suggesting an enrichment of meltwater by these elements during dissolution of carbonate minerals. The concentrations of Al, Fe, Pb, La and other insoluble elements in