Chemical denudation in arctic-alpine Latnjavagge (Swedish Lapland) in relation to regolith as assessed by radio magnetotelluric-geophysical profiles

In Lamjavagge, a 9-km(2) drainage basin with homogeneous lithology in periglacial northern Swedish Lapland, water balance, water chemistry and radio magnetotelluric geophysical investigations along selected profiles were integrated with assessment of regolith thickness as well as of ground frost conditions within the basin. In combination with direct field observations, the geophysical profiles demonstrated presence of relatively thin regolith in most of the investigated area, yet in some parts, the bedrock was located deeper and locally was not detected at 40-m depth. TDS values of the water were generally very low. The areas that contributed with the lowest ion concentrations were cold and had a thin regolith, whereas there were higher concentrations in water that drained radiation exposed slopes with earlier thaw and thicker regolith. The low resistivities found along the profiles in the geophysical investigations in combination with the relatively higher TDS values found in related runoff and subsurface water samples showed that larger volumes of ice-rich frozen ground were not found along the investigated profiles in late August. (C) 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.