Concentrations of Major and Trace Elements within the Snowpack of Tyumen, Russia

Abstract

A study on the composition of snow allowed for a quantitative determination of pollutants deposited from the atmosphere. Concentrations of dissolved (<0.45 μm) and particulate fractions of 62 chemical elements were determined by ICP–MS and ICP–AES in 41 samples of snow from Tyumen (Russia). The background sites were characterized by a predominance of the dissolved phase of elements, except for Al, Sn, Cr, Co and Zr. The increased concentrations of dissolved Cd, Cu, Zn, Pb, Ni, As and Mo can be explained by a long-range atmospheric transport from the sources located in the Urals. The urban sites showed multiple increases in particulate depositions and a predominance of the particulate phase, with a high degree of enrichment in many heavy metals. Sources of trace elements were determined according to the enrichment factor (EF). Highly enriched elements (Pb, Sb, Cd, Ag, Mo, As, Zn and Cu) with an EF > 100 were emitted from anthropogenic sources. According to the potential ecological risk index (RI), the worst ecological conditions were identified in Tyumen’s historical center, industrial zone and along roads with the heaviest traffic. The data obtained in the present study allowed us to identify the most polluted parts of the city, which are located in the center and along the roads with the most intensive traffic. This research could offer a reference for the atmospheric pollution prevention and control in Tyumen.

Snow contamination by heavy metals and metalloids in a polar town (a case study of Nadym, Russia)

“…The average daily dust load in the background area was 1.0 mg/m 2 per day, which almost coincides with the results of a similar study in the polar regions of the Kola Peninsula (northern European Russia), where the dust load in the background areas was 1.03-1.33 mg•m −2 •day −1 (Mityaev et al 2019). More southern regions of Western Siberia have demonstrated a higher deposition of insoluble particles: 3-3.2 mg•m −2 •day −1 on average (Litau et al 2015;Ermolov and Smolentsrev 2020;Moskovchenko et al 2021a). On the contrary, a decrease in the flux of insoluble particles is observed in more northern regions.…”

“…Similar results were obtained in the study by (Shevchenko et al 2017) showing that snowpack within Western Siberia has a range of EF values from < 10 (Fe, V) to more than 1000 (Zn and Cd). Similarly, dust in the snow in the background areas of the south of Western Siberia is to the fullest extent enriched in Cd, Sb, Zn, and Cu, while minimal enrichment is observed for Fe and V (Moskovchenko et al 2021a).…”

Editorial for Special Issue “Elemental Concentration and Pollution in Soil, Water, and Sediment”

“…They found hazardous pollutants exceeding Russian hygienic limits in half of the tested waters. Interesting findings were also shown by Moskovchenko and co-authors [19], who studied the chemical composition of snow from Tyumen (Russia), which allowed for a quantitative determination of pollutants deposited from the atmosphere. With this determination, they identified the most polluted parts of the city, which were in the center and along the roads with the most intensive traffic.…”

Trace Metals and Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in the Snow Cover of the City of Nizhnevartovsk (Russia)

“…In the transport area of eastern Moscow, the deposition of W during snowfall is 45 times higher than the background values; in terms of the DF index, W ranks second after Mo(Kasimov et al 2016). In Tyumen (south of Western Siberia), the concentration of W in the solid phase of snow in urban land surpasses the background values more than 100 times(Moskovchenko et al 2021b). Snow dust contamination with W has been observed in the transport area of the Siberian city of Tobolsk, where the deposition of W surpluses the background values more than 570 times(Moskovchenko et al 2021a).…”