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The Ob River Basin is a major river located in Russia. It is the seventh longest river system in the world! The Ob River serves many purposes and faces its own unique challenges because of its location. Russia is known for its frigid weather and long winters.

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The Ob River is located in central Russia and stretches across several natural zones. The Ob River flows for a distance of approximately 3,650 kilometers. It flows into the Arctic Ocean. The Ob River connects with the Irtysh River to make a 5,410 kilometer long river system. The basin is about 2,990,000 square kilometers!
The Ob River Basin's topography consists of steppe, tundra, swamps, taiga, and semi-desert.

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The Ob River has the third greatest discharge of Siberia's rivers. On average, it pours 95 cubic miles/ 400 cubic km of water annually into the Arctic Ocean. About twelve percent of the oceans total intake is from the Ob River drainage. Most water drainage comes from melting snow and rainfall. Much less comes from groundwater, mountain snow, and glaciers.

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Russia's population is unique. Because of the extreme weather, its population is sparse. There are only about 22 people per square mile! As you can see in the map, the population is more dense on the European side of Russia where the weather is more moderate. In the area where the Ob River is located, there are not as many people.

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The Ob River is huge and serves many purposes. This river basin provides irrigation, drinking water, hydroelectric energy, and fishing. The Ob River is home to over 50 species of fish. There are also several hydroelectric power plants along the Ob River. This river is used for transportation of goods since it is long and flows through several places.

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Some of the cities that are along the Ob River include: Barnaul, Kamen-na-Obi, Novosibirsk (Russia's third largest city and Siberia's largest by population), Kolpashevo, Langepas, Megion, Nizhnevartovsk, Surgut, Khanty-Mansiysk, Beryozovo, Labytnangi, and Salekhard.

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In the 17th and 18th centuries, people began to realize how huge the Ob River was and the economic potential it had. The Great Northern Expedition of 1733-1742 was a time where people explored the river so they it could all be mapped. Ob River is now used as a major navigable waterway. It is used to transport cargo to the major cities and trade centers in Russia. Industrial goods and agricultural produce are imported and exported along the Ob River.

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The Ob River is home to many different plants and animals. Its banks are also home to pine, cedar, aspen, soft fir, and birch. Larger areas near the river are covered with willow, wild roses, currant bushes, snowball trees, and bird cherry.
In addition to its over 50 species of fish, The Ob River basin is also home to European and Siberian moles, Siberian and American mink, fox, elk, beavers, otters, wolves, and over 170 species of birds.

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Russia is used for a wide array of agricultural things. In the areas where Ob River is located, the land is mostly used for forestry, hunting, livestock, and reindeer herding. Some other major agricultural uses of the land in Russia are: grains, livestock, desert pasture (sheep and goats), and sugar beets.

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The Ob River is home to over fifty species of fish! This makes it a very popular area for fishing. Since winters are long and cold, this is not an activity that can be enjoyed year-round but many people take advantage of the huge river to enjoy some leisure time. The pollution can have an impact on this activity though.

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Climate in Russia varies greatly depending on where you're at. The most predominant climate though is tundra, subarctic, subtropic ans some deserts. Russia also only has two seasons; winter and summer. The average summer temperature is around 20-25 degrees Celsius while the winter temperature is around-10 degrees Celsius. Winters are long and cold.

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Climate change is having a huge impact on the Ob River basin. Because of its location in Russia, this river has always had a cold climate. With climate change and warmth, there have been some negative impacts. The warmer climate is causing permafrost to melt, increased precipitation, greater basin evapotranspiration, and more groundwater and freshwater discharge. This was my main focus for the loop diagram. Climate change is having huge impacts on the Ob River basin.

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Pollution is a major problem all over the world. The Ob River basin is no exception to this. A great amount of the pollution in the Ob River is radioactive. A huge source of pollutants also comes from Industries and Agricultural farms along the river.

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In 1957 Mayak nuclear facility dumped high levels of radioactive waste into a nearby river. This nuclear waste flowed into the Ob River which eventually found its way into the Arctic Ocean. This was a huge disaster which had a horrible impact. Improper management at Mayak Nuclear Facility has led to oil spillage in the water. This has killed aquatic species on a massive scale.

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Radioactive pollution continues to be a huge issue for the Ob River Basin. There are several power plants along Ob River as well as oil fields in and around the river. There continues to be accidental oil spillage caused by oil tankers on the river.

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The Ob Basin has short, warm winters and long, cold winters. The summer temperatures range from 40-68 degrees F with a high of 104 degrees. The coldest winter temperature was -76 degrees F. Snow cover lasts for 240-270 days in the north and 160-170 days in the south. This can have an impact on the uses of the Ob River. Since it is a huge transportation vessel, the long winters can impact the frequency of goods being transported.

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Weather Impacts on Transportation of Goods

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Weather Impacts on Transportation of Goods

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Because of the frigid temperatures, transportation along the Ob River is impacted. Ice begins to form on the Ob River in late October and the river is completely solid by the middle of November. Upper reaches will be frozen for about 150 days while lower reaches may be frozen for up to 220 days. The Ob River is only navigable for about 190 days a year in its upper reaches and 150 days a year in its lower reaches.

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Permafrost thawing is a problem for the Ob River basin that could get much worse if things do not change. If permafrost thaws, methane gets released, greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere, and temperatures increase. Also, when permafrost thaws, there is more precipitation which increases stream flow. This can be harmful and can cause flooding to the land surrounding the Ob River.

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Rising temperatures will continue to be a major issue for the Ob River Basin. Even if the temperature is only increasing by a degree, it can have harmful effects. The increase in temperature causes permafrost to thaw which leads to methane and greenhouse gases to be released into the atmosphere. This will only cause the temperature to continue to rise.

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Here is the connection circle I created for this project. The main behavior/component I looked at for the Ob River Basin was climate change. I was able to find some interesting variables that have been impacted by climate change. I also explored a little bit of the pollution and the impacts that pollution has on the Ob River Basin.

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In this slide I have my connection circle, feedbacks, and loop diagram. It was interesting to see how all the different variables impact each other. Looking at this system was complex and there were a lot of variables I found which impact each other.

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Oil management (or mismanagement) has been a major issue for the Ob River basin. There are several oil fields along the Ob River which have oil leaks or oil is dumped (intentionally or by accident) into the river. There needs to be some sort of policies or laws put into place to prevent this from happening. The oil is killing fish at alarming rates. If they enforced a fine for each time oil was dumped into the river, I imagine these oil fields would stop dumping their oil into the river.

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Climate change is another huge issue impacting the Ob River Basin. This was the major component I looked at for this project. The solution for climate change is not easy. It would require changes worldwide. Reducing the impacts of climate change and reversing the damage requires major changes. We must reduce greenhouse gas emissions, examine and reevaluate how we are getting our power and energy, lower burning of fossil fuels and so much more. The changes must occur worldwide.

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Nuclear waste is another major issue impacting the Ob River Basin. The solution for this comes down to Russia creating stricter policies regarding the nuclear/radioactive waste being dumped or released into the river. For far too long, mismanagement of nuclear waste has caused a great amount of damage to the Ob River Basin. Countless species have been killed because of the radioactive waste being released into the water. This nuclear waste is damaging and contaminates the water supply. The waste is killing animals and plants and is impacting humans. The water is being pumped full of harmful waste by companies who could care less. There need to be policies put in place to prevent this from happening. If these corporations do not care enough for the planet, then fines need to be enforced to prevent them from contaminating the river.

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The Ob River Basin is fascinating! It is one of the largest river basins in the world and serves so many purposes. The river is used greatly for transportation in addition to providing irrigation, drinking water, hydroelectric energy, and fishing. Climate change and pollution are both having negative impacts on the river system and could be detrimental if serious changes are not made in the near future.

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