DETERMINATION OF THE TOTAL ALDEHYDES CONTENT IN THE SNOW COVER AS AN INDICATOR OF URBAN AIR STATUS

Abstract

Aldehydes, especially С1-С3, have high mobility in the air and high toxicity. They can both get into the air directly by anthropogenic sources of pollution, and are formed due to photochemical reactions. Therefore, the control of the total content of aldehydes in cities is an urgent task, and the integral indicator of the air condition, which can be considered snow cover, is important.The spectrophotometric method has been used to determination the total content of aldehydes in the snow cover of the central part of Uzhhorod. It is established that the total content of aldehydes in the snow cover is 192-467 μg´L-1, which corresponds to the average values in relation to the literary data. Therefore, the level of air pollution by aldehydes in Uzhhorod can be considered acceptable. It was shown that the main contribution to the total pollution of the snow cover by aldehydes is formaldehyde, which accounts for 75-85%.Based on the conducted researches, the mapping of the central part of Uzhhorod has been carried out on the basis of the total content of aldehydes in the snow cover. The field of the highest concentrations of aldehydes in the snow is observed in the area of Svobody Boulevard. This is due to the intensive traffic load on this territory, as well as the feature of its urban development and climatic conditions. The most pure areas of the central part of Uzhhorod are selected, in particular, the embankment of the city and the area of Uzhhorod castle.As a whole, it is shown that the condition of snow cover of cities can be considered as an integral indicator of air pollution, and the indicator of the total content of aldehydes in the snow cover allows to assess the anthropogenic load on the air in cities, as well as the features of urban development and dominant climatic conditions.