No abstract

Contamination of snow cover has been investigated in the Longyearbyen (78°13 N, 15°38 E) and Barentsburg (78°3 N, 14°12 E) areas, which are situated in the southwest part of Spitsbergen (Svalbard archipelago). Snow cover was sampled in two winter seasons, 2012–2013 and 2013–2014, at 54 locations within potentially contaminated areas. Sampling incorporated the whole snow mass and was combined with morphological observations as well as thickness and density measurements. Meltwater and suspended solids were further analysed for a wide range of contaminants including polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and macro-ions. Results were contrasted with previous studies measuring the release of contaminants from snow to soil cover. It was shown in keeping with earlier studies that PAH contributions are associated with airborne particulate matter. The results, in contrast to earlier studies further demonstrated that the high concentrations of contaminants in both settlements are attributed to local sources due to combustion and industrial activity.

Algal-cyanobacterial communities, soil nano-and microfauna, and mycelium of micromycetes were studied in soils of an administrative district of Moscow. To characterize the habitat conditions of microbiota in the soils of different functional zones of the city, the acid-base conditions and the contents of exchangeable and water-soluble nitrogen, mobile heavy metals, and soluble salts were determined. The diversity of species of algal-cyanobacterial communities, the composition of the dominant species, the proportions of different ecological groups of diatom algae, the diversity of soil nano-and microfauna, and the abundance of colorless and colored mycelium in the urban soils were characterized. The analysis of these parameters showed that the degree of technogenic impact on soil microbiota decreases in the following sequence of functional zones of the city: industrial > traffic > residential > recreation.