Authors

Ol’ga P. Trubitsina*
*Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation)

Abstract

The article focuses on the acid precipitation trends in the coastal zone of the Arkhangelsk region. This is especially important from the point of view of the fact that the studied area refers to the land part of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF), interest in the industrial development of which in recent years has increased. Acid-base precipitation features were identified during the 12-year period (from 1991 to 2002) by the hindsight study. It was performed using the software applications package of the statistical processing SPSS. The analysis is based on the deductive method of research of archival data of the annual and monthly reporting of the Northern Department for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring. The author identified the tendencies of the acidity of atmospheric precipitation, the contribution of shares of SO₄²⁻ , NO³⁻ , Cl⁻ in the amount of precipitation anions and the percentage of neutralization of acidic precipitation in all investigated stations in warm and cold periods. The analysis identified 12-year temporal heterogeneity of the acid-alkaline characteristics of precipitation of the coastal areas of the arkhangelsk region. About 1\3 analyzed precipitation in all investigated stations reflect the tendency of acidification. Sulfate ions occupy the prevailing situation in the precipitation anions of all test stations. In most cases (88 %) neutralization of precipitation does not occur, which indicates the acid neutralizers deficiency in their composition. Neutralization of precipitation more frequently occurs during the warm period. The article content provides the valuable information, which should be considered in the development and implementation of industrial projects in the Arctic region. It should be used for estimating the degree of toxicity of acid-forming and eutrophying pollutants in different media (air, soil, water, plants, and fungi), determining the threshold effect at the stage of the impact assessment in the analysis of geo-ecological risks (GER), developing biota monitoring in the AZRF.

Keywords

hindsight study of acid precipitation, geoecological risk, coastal area of the Arkhangelsk region, Arctic zone of the Russian federation

References

1. Trubitsina O. Ecological Monitoring of Acid Deposition in the Arctic Region. The Open Ecology Journal, 2015, vol. 8, pp. 21–31. 
2. Izrael’ Yu.A. Kislotnye dozhdi [Acid-Rains]. Moscow, 1983. 206 p. 
3. Bashkin V.N. Biogeokhimiya polyarnykh ekosistem v zonakh vliyaniya gazovoy promyshlennosti [Biogeochemistry of the Polar Ecosystems in the Areas Affected by the Gas Industry]. Moscow, 2014. 302 p. 
4. Vinogradova A.A. Antropogennyy aerozol’ nad moryami Severnogo Ledovitogo okeana: avtoref. dis. … d-ra geogr. nauk [Anthropogene Aerosol over the Seas of the Arctic Ocean: Dr. Geogr. Sci. Diss. Abs.]. Moscow, 2004. 40 p. 
5. Vasilenko V.N., Dlikman I.F., Nazarov I.M., Fridman Sh.D. Neytralizatsiya kislotnykh osadkov v Severnom polusharii [Neutralization of the Acidic Precipitation in the Northern Hemisphere]. Meteorologiya i gidrologiya [Russian Meteorology and Hydrology], 1993, no. 8, pp. 8–14. 
6. Brimblecombe P. Air: Composition and Chemistry. UK, Cambridge, 1986. 240 p. 
7. Bashkin V.N., Trubitsina O.P., Priputina I.V. Otsenka geoekologicheskikh riskov v zonakh vliyaniya neftyanoy i gazovoy promyshlennosti v Rossiyskoy Arktike [Assessment of Geo-Ecological Risks in the Areas Affected by the Oil and Gas Industry in the Russian Arctic]. Arktika i Sever [Arctic and North], 2015, no. 20, pp. 92–97.