Ecogeochemistry of microparticles in the environment

The article presents the results of the latest studies of the emission and distribution of microparticles in the environment based on monitoring and assessment of the ecological and geochemical state of urbanized areas and river basins. Scientific bases and technologies for geochemical analysis of microparticles in the atmosphere (aerosols, snow and rain), pedosphere (urban soils and road dust) and terrestrial hydrosphere (dissolved and suspended forms of chemical elements in water mass and bottom sediments) have been developed. It is shown that the analysis of microparticles is of key importance for understanding the mechanisms of pollution of the environmental components and the formation of technogenic geochemical anomalies in the Moscow metropolis and other cities. Our research made it possible to identify an association of chemical elements that enriches almost all components of the urban environment. It includes antimony, cadmium, copper, tungsten, zinc, lead, bismuth, tin, and molybdenum .With multiple emissions from various pollution sources in large cities, the Source Apportionment technology was used to quantify the contributions of sources to the pollution of the studied environments. The PMF receptor model was used for the first time to determine the contribution of dust, transport and industrial sources to the pollution of the Moscow atmosphere, which is necessary for assessing the air quality and geochemical load on terrestrial landscapes. The influence of long-range transport was estimated by calculating probable directions (reverse trajectories) of air advection using the NOAA HYSPLIT transport-dispersion model. Possible sources of metals and metalloids (MMs) in microparticles of Moscow road dust were identified using the PCA-MLR model. Statistical analysis of the experimental material allowed establishing the main factors and mechanisms that determine the spatial distribution of contamination of road dust and urban soils with MMs, as well as their most important carrier phases specific to different pollution sources. Based on the survey of the major rivers of Russia, a methodology and technology for hydrogeochemical analysis of river basins was elaborated. The analysis covers high-frequency (daily, weekly), seasonal and interannual variability of hydrological parameters, concentrations of chemical elements in dissolved and suspended forms, their particle size distribution, as well as chemical elements flows in river basins.