Atmospheric transport of anthropogenic impurities to the Russian arctic (1986–2010)

Abstract

The 25-year series of data on air-mass transport to three sites in the Russian Arctic has been extended till 2010 and analyzed. Spatial, seasonal, and long-term features of the atmospheric transport of anthropogenic aerosol impurities are studied. Changes in atmospheric circulation over 25 years (1986–2010) have led to an increase in the proportion of marine air masses above northern islands of Eurasia. This can affect the composition of soils, river and lake waters, and living conditions of the Arctic flora and fauna. For the last decade (2001–2010), the average anthropogenic air concentrations of heavy metals (Pb, Cd, As, Zn, Ni, Cr, and Cu) and black carbon, as well as their average fluxes onto the surface were estimated in the regions of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya archipelagos. The results of this work can be used in the study of long-term processes and variations in different parameters of land and marine objects and ecosystems in the Russian Arctic undergoing anthropogenic impacts.