Large Russian rivers water chemical composition monitoring: state of research, recent results, and prospects

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Abstract
Relevance. Current data on the chemical composition of river water is a crucial foundation for addressing water management challenges and serves as input information for global climate modeling. This article provides an overview of monitoring systems for the chemical composition WATER RESOURCES STUDIES 67 № 3, 2026 ВОДНОЕ ХОЗЯЙСТВО РОССИИ: ПРОБЛЕМЫ, ТЕХНОЛОГИИ, УПРАВЛЕНИЕ of river water in major Russian rivers (Northern Dvina, Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Don) within the observation network of Roshydromet, at departmental stations, and as part of scientific research programs. Methods.Information sources providing data and their accessibility are examined. The results of long-term network observations at the downstream Roshydromet stations on the rivers under consideration are summarized. The programs and data of the ArcticGRO (Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Kolyma) and Arctic FLUX (Ob, Yenisei, Lena, Kolyma) projects, as well as monitoring at the Samoylovsky Island Research Station (Lena), are reviewed. The monitoring of the chemical composition of river water in the lower reaches of the Moskva, Oka, Don, Northern Dvina, Ob, Yenisei, and Lena rivers is discussed. This monitoring was established in 2024 with the support of a mega-grant from the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation titled “Flows of potentially toxic elements and compounds in river basins: study technologies, quantitative assessment, and forecast.” Within this monitoring, more than 150 suspended and dissolved forms of chemical elements, nutrients, and organic substances are measured weekly, year-round. This represents a qualitatively new type of monitoring of the chemical composition of water in major Russian rivers, both in terms of detail and the scope of observations. Results. First estimates of seasonal transport forms of nutrients are presented, along with assessments of the input of suspended forms of trace elements into the receiving seas. The prospects for implementing remote and automated methods for monitoring the chemical composition of river water in Russian rivers are discussed.