Accumulations of technogenic emissions in the snow cover of the north-west in the Kurgan region

Abstract

The study of the accumulation and spatial distribution of ecotoxicants on agricultural lands is one of the important aspects in solving the problem related to the environmental safety of animal feed and food products obtained. In this regard, there is a need to assess the content of pollutants in the chain atmosphere – snow cover. The purpose of the research was to assess the level of contamination of the snow cover of agricultural enterprises in the areas of the north-west of the Kurgan region exposed to man-made impacts. In the north-western part of the Kurgan region three variants of territories were identifi ed that diff er in the degree of environmental stress. The fi rst territory is experiencing the load from the nearby powerful South Ural industrial agglomeration, subject to transboundary man–made pollution, spreading both by water and aerogenically (Kataysky area); the second territory is the subject to transboundary man-made pollution by enterprises of the Chelyabinsk region, and is the location of facilities for the storage and destruction of chemical weapons (Shchuchansky area); the third territory is the territory of relative ecological well–being (Shadrinsky and Kargapolsky areas). In the areas of the north-west of the Kurgan region, the zonal nature of technogenic pollution of snow cover and soils has been revealed. Pollution of the studied territories occurs through the introduction of technogenic aerosols, as well as the influence of local sources. It was revealed that nitrites, nitrates, ammonium nitrogen, manganese make up the largest share in the association of pollution of the studied territories, while sulfates, chlorides and zinc make up the smallest share. In the snow cover, the highest concentration of heavy metals was detected in the fi rst and second territories. The third territory is subject to contamination by the studied elements to a lesser extent.