O. V. Chernitsova

Rivers are the main source of water supply for the Crimean Peninsula, making their chemical status crucial for the regional water security. The study is based on results of geochemical surveys conducted in 2015 – 2018 during different hydrological phases in rivers of the northern macroslope of the Crimean Mountains (the Salgir, Belbek, Kacha, and Alma) and the southern coast (the Derekoyka, Ulu-Uzen, Demerdzhi, and Uchan-Su). Background levels of most elements in water and suspended matter are comparable to their global averages. In impacted areas metal contents exceed background by up to 10–20 times. Dissolved metal contamination is typical during low-water periods, whereas increased values in suspended matter is primarily associated with flood events. Suspended matter is enriched in Bi, Cd, Sb, Zn, Cu, Sn, Pb, W, and Mn, consistent with the geochemical signature of urban road dust in Crimean cities. Among the rivers of the northern part of Crimea, the highest pollution is typical for the Salgir River, on the southern coast - for the Uchan-Su River. Metal(loid)s inputs to suspended matter is predominantly controlled by natural sources, the highest anthropogenic impact is related to construction activities (releasing calcareous dust), urban wastewater, vehicle emissions, and agricultural practices, particularly vineyards.

Long-term coal mining (more than 50 years) in the Moscow basin has a complex negative effect on soils. Because of underground mining at coal fields spoil heaps with a high content of iron sulfides, aluminosilicates and organic carbon of coal origin were formed. Oxidation of sulfides and acid hydrolysis of aluminosilicates in waste dumps results in the producing of toxic sulfuric acid, Al and Fe sulfates (Nordstrom and Alpers 1999). Acid mine drainage (AMD) entering from eroded spoil heaps, leads to physico-chemical and morphological changes in soil characteristics. On foreslopes around spoil heaps technogenically transformed soils are common. Our study aimed at evaluation of post-mining geochemical evolution of chemical composition and properties of solid and liquid soil phases.We examined two key sites within abandoned coal mine fields in the central part of the Moscow basin. Predominant natural soils are Greyic Phaeozems and Haplic Chernozems (WRB 2014) (Grey forest and Leached Chernozems in Russian classification).Soil samples and displaced soil solutions (by ethanol) were analysed for acid-base properties, content and composition of readily soluble salts, content of Fe2+ and Fe3+, H+ and Al3+, composition of exchangeable cations, heavy metals (HM) and organic carbon) by standard methods. The composition of clay minerals in soils were determined by X-ray diffractometry. The saturation degree of soil solutions by gypsum, iron and aluminum hydroxides was estimated.Properties of technogenic soils differ significantly from natural soils. We observed the transformation of the composition of soil solutions. Key geochemical processes at mine sites in contaminated soils were: (1) acidification and Fe-Al-SO4 salinization of entire soil profile along with the increment in H+ and Al3+ ions content; (2) cation exchange, leading to displacement of Cа2+ and Mg2+ ions by Al3+, H+ and, probably, by Fe2+ and Fe3+ in soil cation-exchange complex (CEC); (3) alteration of radial differentiation of organic carbon and carbonates in soils; (4) clay mineral transformations.Topsoil features a high content of technogenic organic carbon (reaches 12%) due to the inflow of coal material particles from the dump. Ca2+ and Mg2+ ions predominate (for 70 to 90%) in CEC of natural soils. Exchangeable Al3+ accounts for more than 75% of the acidity formation in transformed soils. The share of exchangeable Ca2+ and Mg2+ in CEC of contaminated soils depletes on 22-38%.Extracted soil solutions from polluted soils are heavily oversaturated by Al hydroxides. Even though the activity of Ca2+ and SO42- ions in some samples reaches the gypsum saturation level, gypsum neoformations are not distinguished morphologically.The content of Co, Сu, Ni and Zn in displaced solutions of transformed soils in tens or even hundreds times exceeds the background values. The clay minerals of natural soils are represented by kaolinite, illite, vermiculite and mixed-layer minerals. The sharp increase in smectite fraction (up to 75-80%) and slightly in chlorite fraction was revealed in transformed soils.Post-technogenic soils have no analogues in natural forest-steppe landscapes of the Russian Plain. 

Environmental geochemical studies of urban territories involve heterogeneous information that can be most effectively processed within a unified database (DB). Since a significant portion of the accumulated data is georeferenced, geographic information technologies should be used at all stages of the researches. The purpose of this work is to consider the structure of the DB for information support of ecological and geochemical studies of different urban environments in Moscow within the framework of the Russian Science Foundation project No. 19-77-30004 "Integrated technology for environmental assessment of Moscow megacity based on chemical analysis of microparticle composition in the "atmosphere - snow - road dust - soil - surface water" system (Megacity)".The project aims to develop technologies for the chemical analysis of the urban environments impacted by the pollutants coming from vehicles, industry, and construction sites, as well as the assessment of the environmental state of the megacity. Various components of the environment are analyzed at several spatial scales: for the entire Moscow city, for administrative districts, for drainage basins of two urban rivers (Moskva and its tributary Setun). The composition of pollutant emissions is characterized using monitoring aerosol data at the Meteorological Observatory of Lomonosov Moscow State University. Microparticles PM10 and PM2.5 are analyzed for the content of elemental carbon, ionic and organic compounds, as well as potentially toxic elements, under different meteorological conditions and seasonal variations. The fallout of aerosols during winter is determined by the chemical analysis of dissolved and solid fractions of snow samples and its comparison with a natural background. Water migration of pollutants is assessed by analyzing river flows (water and suspended/bottom sediments) at reference stations in the Moskva River basin. The ecological state of road dust and soils that accumulate pollutants is estimated in geochemical surveying. Finally, source apportionment is quantified using statistical methods of multivariate analysis.The development of a DB with the integrated geographic information system (GIS) allows systematizing the spatial and non-spatial information accumulated in field works, chemical and analytical studies, and organizing effective data storage and processing along with providing geoinformation support for DB users. We created four DB subsystems designed for: (1) processing georeferenced data (GIS); (2) working with time series; (3) handling regulatory and reference information; (4) assessing pollution and environmental hazard with computational models. For Moscow megacity, GIS brings together two large blocks of information: spatial layers stored within the geodatabase and spreadsheets with the results of field studies and chemical analyses. The main functions of the GIS are geoprocessing, execution of non-spatial and spatial queries, data analysis (including exploratory spatial data analysis and modeling), visualization of the results.The report will present subsystems of the DB and the interrelationships between them. The use of the database in practice will be considered on the example of assessing the pollution of road dust with benzo(a)pyrene, accounting for anthropogenic and natural factors.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), in particular benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), are priority organic pollutants coming from various anthropogenic sources. The levels of accumulation and the spatial distribution of BaP in urban soils, road dust and their PM₁₀ particles (with a diameter of less than 10 microns) were for the first time determined for various land use zones and roads of different size in the cities of Crimea—Alushta, Yalta and Sebastopol. The average content of BaP in soils and road dust in Alushta is 60 and 97 ng/g, in Yalta—139 and 64 ng/g, in Sebastopol—260 and 89 ng/g, respectively, which considerably exceeds the background level (1 ng/g). The BaP concentrations in PM₁₀ particles of soils and dust are up to 11 and four times higher, respectively, than the total contents; they concentrate 35–70% of amount of the pollutant. The accumulation of BaP in soils and dust depends on the type of land use and size of roads. The exceedance of BaP standards in soils and road dust indicates a hazardous environmental situation in three cities of Crimea. The most dangerous are PM₁₀ particles, which form anomalies with extreme levels of BaP contamination.

This paper examines effects caused by erosion products and seepage waters spreading from sulfuric coal dumps for more than 50 years on the chemical composi

Ecologo-geochemical investigations are conducted within the framework of ecological monitoring of ecosystems experiencing the effects from rocket and space activity, on territories used for landing of detachable portions of carrier rockets. Results from soil-geochemical and geobotanical investigations in areas of Northwestern Altai where the second rocket stages fell back to Earth are presented. The data obtained serve as a basis for assessing the effects of rocket and space activity on the region’s ecosystems.

To properly evaluate the data received during the ecological monitoring of space-rocket activities, it is necessary to make allowance for the natural variability of the chemical properties of soils that are common for the territories used for landing separated parts of launch vehicles. This paper presents the results of the soil and geochemical studies in mountain and tundra landscapes in the Republic of Altai in the impact zone where the second stages of launch vehicles fall. Based on the obtained results and data from laboratory experimental investigations, the ecological soil buffer capacity in relation to rocket fuel is quantified for one of the monitored sites.

The actual vegetation in the territory of the Baikonur Cosmodrome (the Republic of Kazakhstan) has been mapped for the first time. The potential resistance of edificators and plant associations to the impact of space-rocket activities has been estimated based on this. Weakly and moderately resistant phytocenoses, comparatively resistant phytocenoses, and resistant ones have been ascertained to occupy 43, 18.5, and 38% of the cosmodrome’s territory.