Sulphur dioxide content in soils in the zone of influence of Severonickel plant in Murmansk region of the Russian Federation

Abstract

Anthropogenic air pollution attracts attention of scientists and the public around the world for many years. Traveling over vast distances, particles and aerosols pollute the environment many kilometers away from emission sources. Primary anthropogenic aerosols enter the air mainly with industrial emissions from factories. Secondly aerosols are formed in the atmosphere through various physical and chemical processes involving water vapor, organic compounds, etc. This group includes sulphur dioxide. The article discusses issues related to the pollution of the environment as a result of the activities of the copper-nickel plant Severonickel, located on the Kola Peninsula. In particular, the problem of accumulation of sulfur compounds in the soil, which occurs over decades at a different distance from the industrial factory. Sulphur dioxide is a toxic substance, at high concentrations in the air there is a harmful impact on living organisms, precipitation leads to acidification of the soil, disturbance of soil and vegetation cover, changes balance and destroy ecosystems. For this reason, it is important to monitor the condition of ecosystems that are under the influence of industrial plants. This issue is dedicated to the work of researchers and students of the Department of Environmental Management of the Faculty of Geography of Lomonosov Moscow State University, who for more than twenty years have been monitoring the state of ecosystems in the impact zone of Severonickel plant, including a number of studies devoted to pollution of the soil with sulfur compounds.