Soil polychemical contamination on Beliy Island as key background and reference plot for Yamal region

Abstract

Background concentrations of main trace elements and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in pristine soils of the Beliy Island situated in the Kara Sea, Yamal autonomous region, North-West Siberia, Russia. Belyi Island is considered as reference landscpae for further investigation of soil polychemical contamination of the Yamal region. Three plots with different functional load (mature ecosystem, occasionally and permanently affected plots) were investigated with aim to evaluate the trend of long term polychemical effect on Stagnic Cryosols -benchmark soil type of the Yamal region. Accumulation of trace elements was not fixed in all soils investigated due to absence of direct sources of heavy metals on the territory of the Beliy Island. At the same time, there were essential alterations of PAHs fractional composition and content due to pronounced accumulation of the petroleum products combustion in the vicinity of the permanent meteorological station and former seasonal field base. The most intensive and statistically significant accumulation was noted for phenanthrene, anthracene, benzo[k]fluoranthene and benzo [a]pyrene. This indicates accumulation of the PAHs in soils, affected by the anthropogenic activity on the meteorological station. The most pronounced differences were revealed for the superficial layer of 0-5 cm. Deeper horizons of soil did not show accumulation of contaminants. Data obtained can be used for organization of further monitoring of contamination of soils and landscapes in Yamal as developing and industrial region.

Effect of the Wildfires on Sandy Podzol Soils of Nadym Region, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District, Russia

“…e PCM (potential mineralizable carbon) values of the mature soil were essentially higher in superficial layers of mature soil than in lower ones. is was also an indicator of the fact that the deepness of fire effect in case of one-time surface fire is not high, and this effect is not pronounced in the deepest soil layers (see Figure 5) Data obtained are comparable with those obtained previously [16,17,39,40]. e total content of PAHs (see Figure 6) in fire-affected soil was higher than in control, and this is caused by pyrogenic factor.…”

Mobilization of Geochemical Elements to Surface Water in the Active Layer of Permafrost in the Russian Arctic

“…It should be noted that the enrichment of Mn and Al for soil materials in Western Siberia has been previously investigated (Abakumov et al., 2017; Antcibor et al., 2014; Evgeny et al., 2017; Ji et al., 2019a, 2019b). Findings have shown that with increased soil water flow into suprapermafrost water, the input of elements, such as Mn and Al, is more consistent from soil to solution.…”

Development of Surficial Deposits on Belyi Island (Kara Sea) during the Last 40,000 Years

“…Precipitation is low, less than 300 mm per year. However, the flat physical landscape and permafrost result in the island being covered with bogs (Abakumov et al 2017).…”