Ecological-geochemical investigations of dust emissions over the aldan mining node area (Sakha Republic, Yakutia) by studying the snow cover

Since the first time of its exploration (1924), the Aldan District, being an administrative and territorial unit of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation, has become one of the largest and most developed mining areas in Yakutia. Here deposits of molybdenum, uranium, iron, chemical r...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:IOP conference series. Earth and environmental science 2019-05, Vol.274 (1), p.12125
Main Author: Melnikov, A E
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Chemical composition
Construction materials
Economic development
Fluorite
Gems
Geochemistry
Mining
Molybdenum
Natural resources
Nodes
Polls & surveys
Pollutants
Pollution
Pollution surveys
Precious stones
Raw materials
Residential areas
Snow
Snow cover
Uranium
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Summary:Since the first time of its exploration (1924), the Aldan District, being an administrative and territorial unit of the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) of the Russian Federation, has become one of the largest and most developed mining areas in Yakutia. Here deposits of molybdenum, uranium, iron, chemical raw materials, fluorite, phlogopite, construction materials, gems and semi-precious stones, as well as ground waters, are concentrated. Due to its unique richness in terms of its natural resources, the territory has been the subject of intense economic development, which could not but have negatively impacted the ecological situation in the natural environment including, in the first place, in the residential areas. A snow cover geochemical survey was carried out over the Aldan District in order to assess the changes in the geological environment (as an ecosystem component) under the influence of natural and technogenic factors. The studies covered an area of 8600 km2. The analysis of the total chemical composition of snow water as well as solid and soluble snow cover components not only allowed the background parameters to be characterised, but also made it possible to establish the distribution areas for the anomalous concentrations of pollutants as well as reveal the sources of their formation. Two large nodes of technogenic pollution having areas of 320 km2 and 220 km2 respectively were identified in the studied area along with a number of smaller sites. The mapped nodes and sites are formed as a result of the activities of mining complexes, transport enterprises and residential areas. On the basis of the results of the snow geochemical survey, it can be concluded that regional (long-range) pollution in the district is absent.
ISSN:1755-1307
1755-1315
DOI:10.1088/1755-1315/274/1/012125